Is it bad for a keg to warm up after getting chilled

[biohaz7331]

I found a couple threads about this issue but some of them didn't hit on what I wanted to know. With the impending storm coming to the east coast and many people predicting huge power losses I am most worried about my beer. (and flooding) My question is will it hurt the beer if I have just gotten it chilled with 10 psi on it and I lose power which would let it heat back up over a couple days time? Some people have said nothing would happen other than carbonation loss but other people say it is bad to let this happen. Does chilling and warming and then chilling a beer again really hurt it?

 

[RUNningonbrew]

I've had kegs chilled them warm up then re chilled with no problems. The co2 just will go out of solution, the other option is to buy lots of ice!

 

[kkramer56]

I always thought it wasn't good for beer to be changing temperatures, but I am not sure. Someone with more knowledge will weigh in on this I'm sure.

What I did, since I live in SW Florida where hurricanes and daily thunderstorms are the norm certain times of the year, not to mention a good sneeze can cause our power to go off.

I went to Northern Tool and bought a small 2 stroke 1200 watt generator for 140 bucks. If I lose power I am still going to have cold homebrew and a fan. Below is a link to the generator. You don't have a Northern Tool in PA I guess but Home Depot has it on their web site for 10 dollars more.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200390027_200390027

 

[bioguy]

You won't lose any carbonation if your beer is pressurized. Pressure will increase with increasing temp, but the CO2 has nowhere to go.

If you can avoid excessive heat, my feeling is that you'll be OK. Your equipment may not be if it goes under water, but your beer should be.

Skunking reactions are a result of light, so no worries there since it's in a keg.

Here's an old thread on the subject: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/does-harm-chilled-beer-brought-room-temp-then-re-chilled-278402/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/does-harm-chilled-beer-brought-room-temp-then-re-chilled-278402/

 

[Hammy71]

Nothing will happen if your keg gets warm. You won't loose any carbonation, nor will the beer go 'bad'. No worries. Now some commercial kegged brews like Buttwiper....no way I'd let that crap get warm. LOL

 

[JDFlow]

It's fine. Sometimes beer goes from room temp warehouse to refrigerator truck to room temp store room and finally into a display cooler. Plus what do you think happens when you cold crash before bottling? It gets cold and warmed back up to room temp.

 

[IffyG]

I always thought it wasn't good for beer to be changing temperatures, but I am not sure. Someone with more knowledge will weigh in on this I'm sure.

Beer will age faster when stored at warmer temperatures, but the act of going from cold to warm isn't doing much (if any) damage to the beer on it's own.

 

[Rbeckett]

My personal opinion is based on allowing "Sudsweiser" to get warm and re-cooling it. It made the beer have a bite and when I added CO2 to push it out it seemed to get very flat very quickly. It almost seemed like the warming caused the beeer to refuse to be force carbed and pushed at normal pressures. I eventually upped the pressure to like 12 PSI and finished it off, but I think it definately had a negative effect on that keg. Now I try to keep all brews cool and do not chill till ready to use or put on tap. I keep my Lager/ferment chamber at 55 degrees and move the brew I plan to drink into a kegerator at 35-37 degrees... Just my experience, I have no empirical data to support it but "feel" like it makes a difference in the taste and pour of the brew. That was back in college when keggers were a weekly event and Bud or Michelob was on tap always. Don't have any evidence with home brew, but I treat my brews like beloved children now so they behave and do as directed too.
Wheelchair Bob