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BiloxiBrew

BiloxiBrew

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Please help this poor sap who has taken cold crashing to the next level.

Flash back to last weekend when I racked my beer into a secondary and added gelatin to clear it up. "I'll get to it in 48 hours" he says to himself...

But NOOOOO, this fool puts it on the back burner and lo and behold he finds a solidly frozen block of beer packaged nicely in a glass carboy when he opens his fridge this morning.

So, To make matters worse, I search the trusted forum and find nothing. Leaving me to believe that I could possibly be the ONLY newb to ever have such a crisis which only serves to make me feel more stupid than I already do.

Shhhh, did you all just hear that? I think it was the sound of my combined confidence and ego leaving my body.

Can my lovely golden goodness be saved? Please advise me ye wise and honorable sages of HBT!!!
 
Thaw slowly and continue... it's still beer.

Thankfully, it was not carbonated, as that would'a made a mess!
 
Simple as that? Just let it thaw and keg? Thanks for the advise. Lesson learned I hope.
 
Check the carboy for cracks. Beer, like water expands when frozen.

Will be ok when thawed.
 
Be really careful with that glass carboy. Water expands when it freezes and very frequently breaks whatever it's in when that happens. Even if it's still intact after the thaw I'd look it over carefully for cracks.
 
BiloxiBrew said:
Please help this poor sap who has taken cold crashing to the next level.

Flash back to last weekend when I racked my beer into a secondary and added gelatin to clear it up. "I'll get to it in 48 hours" he says to himself...

But NOOOOO, this fool puts it on the back burner and lo and behold he finds a solidly frozen block of beer packaged nicely in a glass carboy when he opens his fridge this morning.

So, To make matters worse, I search the trusted forum and find nothing. Leaving me to believe that I could possibly be the ONLY newb to ever have such a crisis which only serves to make me feel more stupid than I already do.

Shhhh, did you all just hear that? I think it was the sound of my combined confidence and ego leaving my body.

Can my lovely golden goodness be saved? Please advise me ye wise and honorable sages of HBT!!!
Click to expand...

You are not alone. There have been posts about frozen beer. Use Google to search for them.
Hopefully with the alcohol content your carboy didn't freeze as if it were filled with water. Like others have said, check it carefully for any sign of cracks.
 
I froze one. Not quite a solid block, but not far off. I bottle conditioned it and didn't even repitch - turned out great but was slow to carb up. Thankfully, mine was in a bucket.
 
I put a carboy outside to cold crash, I had added gelatin, and like you, forgot it for a few days, in those three days the temps dipped to the single digits and the top 6-8 inches was frozen solid, I put the carboy in the sink to thaw, at least if it cracked, hopefully the liquid would be contained in the sink.
It took the better part of 4-5 hrs, but it thawed and the carboy didn't crack or break, but the beer had pockets of gelatin and solids that were just suspended throughout the beer, I filtered the beer, and all in all I lost two gallons to the gelatinous masses and the beer was no longer a nice golden APA, it was a more concentrated amber beer, still good, but a bit stronger in flavor and I'm sure ABV.
 
I cold crashed my most recent IPA, and like you, froze my beer. I started to freak out a little bit, but I kept calm, thawed, primed, bottled, and now I've got a deliciously piney IPA. Huzzah! RDWHAHB!
 
Ok back from a hectic week. I did as suggested and when I get back in town I will hopefully have a crisp house ale, perfectly carbonated for the game tonight. Thanks all and I look forward to NOT doing that again.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
The more I read this forum...the more I am realizing that beer is very forgiving for the most part when it comes to our dooooohhhh moments..drink up and let us know how it comes out today!
 
I am pleased with the final product. It has a small burn to it but I'm sure it will age out well. So, frozen beer is still beer and can be salvaged. I think I will make a science fair project board to inform the world that beer will continue to the greatest contribution to humankind.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 

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