Frozen kegs!

Went to tap a pint of my new IPA...it's in the upright freezer that I use for lagering, and for dispensing kegs when I have more than the two that fit in my kegerator.

Disaster! When I opened the door, there is beer slush everywhere...not homebrew, than goodness, but some BMC light beer that people had brought to a Mem Day cookout. Three sixers all together, some bottles broken, some with the caps blown off, a couple intact. No loss on the beer, but a ***** to clean up.

The bigger problem? Two kegs of homebrew (IPA and Wit) FROZEN SOLID. I shake the kegs, no sloshing, no nothing. They're heavy (each is 3/4 full, at least), but not liquid. Rocks.

I identifed the problem...probe for the controller, which normally dangles in the air above the kegs, somehow got stuck between the door seal and the frame of the freezer. So even though I had the box set to 45, the probe kept sensing a higher temp than that and the freezer ran continously. I relocated the probe (more securely this time) and turned it up to 55 to let the kegs thaw.

What's this gonna do to the beer?

I have frozen beer on accident before and it didn't seem to have any ill effect on the beer. I think you will be ok as long as you thaw it slowly, leave it in your controlled freezer til the temp comes down. rdwhahb

Been there, done that. Slow defrost and you'll be OK. Don't open it UNTIL it's defrosted.

Since they weren't full, they probably didn't rupture. I'd thaw them in a basin or tub, just to be safe & pressure check them. I partially froze a fermenter full a couple winters ago, gets colder here than in Sunnyvale, CA. No problem though.

No ruptures...seem to be thawing nicely. Taken a couple samples from each keg this evening to see how things are going...gotta say, a high-gravity Wit might be a pretty tasty animal. Mine was a hair overspiced in its natural state, but with a little of the water locked up in ice the high-octane version has a nice maltiness and just a hint of alcohol warmth to balance it out. Not a summer quaffer, by any means, but might be an idea for my next winter warmer...

That's why you need a separate thermometer in a cup of water. I have a digital meat thermometer from Target in both of my chest freezers. I use the kiddie cups from Macaroni Grill cause they have a lid and the probe fit through the straw opening. The digital thermometers give me the temp of the water in the cup rather than the ambient temperature. Much more accurate view of what is going on.

I have a digital thermometer probe that dangles inside the chest. It's nice to see the ambient temp for me because then I know what my thermostat sees and can adjust. Might have to try the cup-o-water though.

I wish they sold a digital that had a temperature alarm that goes off when the temperature drops to a certain level.

BierMuncher said:

I wish they sold a digital that had a temperature alarm that goes off when the temperature drops to a certain level.

Click to expand...

I am considering one of these to use in the Keezer project to go off if the temp rises or drops too far.

EDIT: This one is even less expensive.