I realize I'm not the first one to freeze beer (I did a search), but I thought I would share my experience.
I have a CL's find 20+ cu ft chest freezer that I run with a Ranco temp controller. It's tall enough to drop kegs and a 20lb co2 tank into without having to build a collar (although I plan to make a short one to attach the gas distributor, run the temp probe, and eventually get some faucets).
I brewed two batches yesterday and kegged my first batch of Apfelwein. When I pulled the co2 tank to keg my Apfelwein, I removed the Ranco probe and sat it next to the unit (I did this on autopilot, as I don't remember doing it).
So I go this afternoon after work to sample the Apfelwein, and I notice my Ranco is reading 77 degrees. I glance at the remote thermo I have in the freezer, and it's sitting at 2 degrees. I realized the probe was out, "all my beer is ruined," "my crops failed," and all that stuff ran through my mind.
Sure enough, my half kegs of Hefe Weizen, Two Hearted Ale Clone, and the Apfelwein that I split in two kegs (one for sweetening) were frozen solid. But I remembered the voices from this forum (especially Revvy's) that said my beer is not ruined (changed maybe, but not ruined).
I'm not sure how long the beer was frozen but it took about five hours to thaw. The Two Hearted, that I'd been aging and hoping some "grassy" would go away actually tasted better. My Hefe had a more pronounced clove character, and it was still good, and the Apfelwein tasted great.
So there, fellow n00bs, even if you freeze your beer solid for a day or so, like a big ass Popsicle, it's still hard to ef it up. I'm going to secure that probe better, though.
I have a CL's find 20+ cu ft chest freezer that I run with a Ranco temp controller. It's tall enough to drop kegs and a 20lb co2 tank into without having to build a collar (although I plan to make a short one to attach the gas distributor, run the temp probe, and eventually get some faucets).
I brewed two batches yesterday and kegged my first batch of Apfelwein. When I pulled the co2 tank to keg my Apfelwein, I removed the Ranco probe and sat it next to the unit (I did this on autopilot, as I don't remember doing it).
So I go this afternoon after work to sample the Apfelwein, and I notice my Ranco is reading 77 degrees. I glance at the remote thermo I have in the freezer, and it's sitting at 2 degrees. I realized the probe was out, "all my beer is ruined," "my crops failed," and all that stuff ran through my mind.
Sure enough, my half kegs of Hefe Weizen, Two Hearted Ale Clone, and the Apfelwein that I split in two kegs (one for sweetening) were frozen solid. But I remembered the voices from this forum (especially Revvy's) that said my beer is not ruined (changed maybe, but not ruined).
I'm not sure how long the beer was frozen but it took about five hours to thaw. The Two Hearted, that I'd been aging and hoping some "grassy" would go away actually tasted better. My Hefe had a more pronounced clove character, and it was still good, and the Apfelwein tasted great.
So there, fellow n00bs, even if you freeze your beer solid for a day or so, like a big ass Popsicle, it's still hard to ef it up. I'm going to secure that probe better, though.
