rightwingnut

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Anyone ever think of brewing an "ice beer"? I guess it's really pointless, and difficult. I'm not gonna try it, just curious.

homebrewer_99

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All you have to do is remove the ice from the brew....how much is the question...

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HB Bill

Janx

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It's not that hard. You can just freeze a keg...not solid, just until it's slushy. Chill it to like 31-32 degrees or so. The transfer the liquid to another keg.

We've had inadvertent ice beer when the keg fridge gets too cold.

A buddy of mine told me about how his granddad used to make hard cider every Fall and then put a barrel of it outside where it froze solid in the winter. He would take a hot poker and poke a few holes in the fozen stuff and then pour off the melted beverage. This, he called apple jack, and it was basically an ice-distilled apple brandy. Pretty neat.

Just to note...making ice beer or apple jack as described or anything that involves freezing and removing the water component of a fermented beverage is illegal. It falls under the same laws as distilling. Not that I think ATF will kick down your door if you try it, but there it is.

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Oh don't give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit
No, don't you give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit
For my head will fly, my tongue will lie, my eyes will fry and I may die
Won't you pour me one more of that sinful Old Janx Spirit

D-brewmeister

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How would icing your beer affect the flavor? I'm aware that it would raise the gravity/alcohol level by removing water, and thereby substantially change the mouthfeel, but would it change the hop profile or overall malt characteristics? I know that all the comercialy produced "ice" brews I have tried tasted (icehouse, milwaukee's best ice, etc.), how should I put it, putrid, nausiating, like stale thick nasty Bud. Are those actually ice brews, as you described, or are they just some form of cold brewed lager?

I am also guessing that you would have to keg such a beer, as the freezing would probably zap all the yeast, making bottle conditioning imposible, not to mention raising the alcohol level to the point that that alone would kill 'em.

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O, guid ale comes, and guid ale goes,
Guid ale gars me sell my hose,
Sell my hose, and pawn my shoon -
Guid ale keeps my heart aboon! -- Robert Burns

Janx

Recipes 

I wouldn't think that the freezing would affect the hop or malt profile, but I really don't know.

I imagine you could bottle condition if you pitched more yeast in after distilling. Some pretty strong Belgians are bottle conditioned in this way.

Cheers!

__________________
Oh don't give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit
No, don't you give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit
For my head will fly, my tongue will lie, my eyes will fry and I may die
Won't you pour me one more of that sinful Old Janx Spirit

DesertBrew

Recipes 

I heard that "Ice Beer" was at some point during the brewing process freezing it much like a lake would be frozen where you get a layer of ice on the top and then remove that ice layer thereby extracting some of the water from the beer making a higher ABV. Interesting this thread kicked off on this topic as I just had this conversation a couple weeks ago on Ice Beer. I can't even recall who the heck I had this conversation with. Probably directly related to me using an aluminum kettle

Janx

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When my beer freezes, it goes slushy rather than having a layer of ice on top, but the theory is the same. You're removing water by freezing it. It's just like distilling except you freeze the water instead of boiling off the alcohol.

I believe it comes from a traditional style of German beer called eisbier.

__________________
Oh don't give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit
No, don't you give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit
For my head will fly, my tongue will lie, my eyes will fry and I may die
Won't you pour me one more of that sinful Old Janx Spirit

rightwingnut

Recipes 

That's interesting. I never would have thought that. You learn something new.....

Genghis77

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Chairman Cheyco

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All the ice beers I've tried were pretty terrible too. Why not just brew a bigger beer?

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Once the wind has been broken, it cannot be fixed.