[summy]

Hey all.  Does anyone know what the shelf life is on flaked adjuncts, particularly flaked corn?  I am brewing a cream ale tomorrow and have some flaked corn that is probably around 2 years old.  It is in an unopened package from LD Carlson.

[denny]

To an extent it will depend on how it's store, but my experience with year old flaked maize was that it got rancid.

[bluesman]

Depending on how it was stored, oxidation is the real killer. That can be detected by the aroma. As Denny has said it will start to smell rancid like.

[summy]

I used it.  It smelled like semi-sweet corn.  Nothing bad about it.  I tasted a piece and it seemed fine, not bad tasting at all.  It was vacuum packed and sealed.

[redbeerman]

I used it.  It smelled like semi-sweet corn.  Nothing bad about it.  I tasted a piece and it seemed fine, not bad tasting at all.  It was vacuum packed and sealed.

You should be good to go then.  It will go rancid when exposed to O2 over a period of time, because of the oils in it.  It will stale as well with the starch breakdown.  Oxygen is bad for food in general.