Using snow to chill beer before serving

[UncleBeardyBeer]

Hey Folks,

Brewed a winter warmer a few weeks back. The beer was brewed for a holiday party that is taking place in a few days. It hung out at ~68 for about 4 weeks in bottle, now its nicely carbed and tasty. My issue- I don't have a big enough fridge to chill the beer down in order to get carbonation into suspension (that's why we cool it right? still learning.). I do have a nice igloo cooler and a butt ton of fresh, clean snow in the back yard. Could I safely plop a shovel or two of the frozen stuff into the cooler and let it hang out for a few days? Or is this too cold to do the job properly?

Thanks for any input you can offer!

 

[billl]

Sure - you can cool beer with snow. Just don't leave the cooler outside. Make sure to keep the bottles upright so the yeast settles to the bottom.

 

[ivegot2legs]

Gas is more soluble in a colder liquid, so cooling the beer allows the CO2 in the headspace to go into solution in the beer.

It won't get too cold or freeze the beer, but it might not work very well. You should add cold water to the cooler, place the bottles in, and cover with snow. The water will allow better contact and chill the bottles, whereas straight snow won't provide great contact.

Or you could just put them in the cooler and put it outside, unless it's too cold for that.

 

[dranderson]

Not an expert so...I think it would work just fine. There would be a sanitation issue with snow, but not a major one. Ate a lot of snow as a kid and I never got sick You could consider a lower temp room like the garage to get the temp down.

I think carbonation will occur regardless of whether the bottle are placed at a lower temp.

 

[JonM]

And watch for rabbit poops while scooping up those shovelfuls. If its cold enough, you could freeze some water-filled ziplock bags.

 

[JimRausch]

That'll work, as long as the environmental temps don't get so low(like around 0*F) that either the beer freezes, or the partially thawed snow refreezes and traps your precious cargo in a block of ice.
Another thought- if it's cold enough to keep the snow frozen, then just putting the bottles in the cooler outside should be enough to chill them nicely. Snow not needed unless you are going to bring them inside.
I keep my bottles, once they are carbonated, in styrofoam lined insulated boxes out in my unheated garage. They never get cold enough to freeze even when there is ice in the water bucket. And, for about 7-8 months of the year I don't need a refrigerator.

 

[Oaney]

I agree that water will provide better contact with the bottles than chunks of ice or even snow. Also an ice water mix should remain at exactly 32F as long as there is still ice in there. I would avoid putting the bottles outside because you don't want them to freeze. I would say to put cold water in there, top with snow and pack it down a bit. Then every once in a while drain some water and add more snow, to maintain the ice/water ratio.

The beer shouldn't freeze this way since there is a slight amount of alcohol which should drop the freezing point a few degrees below 32F.

 

[jflongo]

Do you have some nice labels on your bottles? If you do, then I wouldn't put them in water / snow. How cold is it there? If it's in the 30's during the day, then just put them in a cooler, and put it outside. At night, put them in your garage with a blanket over the cooler. Then in the morning, put them back outside, the day of your party.

 

[andy6026]

I live in Canada and we plop our beer in the snow all the time to get it and keep it cold. Fill your cooler with snow and then shove the beer right into it. You'll need to top it up occasionally, as you would with ice in a cooler.

 

[UncleBeardyBeer]

Thanks everyone! This is super helpful. I'm in central IL, forecast says low 20's. I have a pseudo-closed in back porch that has been staying about 10 degrees above the outside temp. Going to opt for the water-mixed-with-snow route and leave it on the porch. I'll check it periodically to make sure that it hasn't frozen solid. That would be a bummer! I tried to find the cleanest looking snow from the top of a drift. Hopefully no hidden surprises! No labels on the bottles either, keepin' it cheap!

Cheers!