Another "Is my beer ruined?" thread - frozen beer

[chiefbrewer]

So I was lagering my kolsch. Starting two fridays ago, i slowly brought the temp down 5 deg per day. Last weekend, I had the Ranco Temp controller set on 36, but the thermometer I had in the fridge read 40. So I turned the Ranco down to about 34, and left it for a week. Apparently, there is about an 8 degree temp differential between the top of the fridge(where the thermometer is) and the bottom, because my Kolsch is FROZEN!!!
What can I do?

 

[maltMonkey]

coincidently, I was reading up on lagering today and came across this and this. He's talking about lagers instead of ales, but hopefully it will ease your mind!

 

[chiefbrewer]

Here's how stupid I am...I have that book. DUH
Well I turned the contoller back to 40, and movd the thermometer down by the carboy. I will adjust it until it gets to about 36...and let it thaw.
I was planning on kegging it next weekend, so hopefully it will thaw this weekend. I'm not concerned with yeast activity continuing. At this point, I am just using the cold temps to clear it up.

 

[Aleforge]

From my research I have read of frozen lagers many of times, and each time they seemed to turn out fine once thawed.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

A good trick for the Ranco is to tape the probe to the side of your carboy/keg. That way you get a rather accurate reading of the liquid temperature.

 

[jsuiker]

haha, just did the same thing to my kolsch today. I had the Ranco set to 31 though, so it serves me right. I had hoped the alcohol content would keep the freezing point low.

I think a fan is in order to circulate air in the mini fridge.

Are you gonna pitch some more yeast to ensure good carbonation or are you kegging?

 

[pigpharm]

So, I prepare to bottle my scotch ale, and it's frozen. I'm comforted by these posts (thanks, maltmonkey!) that i can add new yeast and have drinkable beer, but i wonder if there will be aftereffects. Will this break up the colloidal properties I love so much? Or affect the flavor in the long run?

I'm trying to develop a consistant recipe, so I would like to know if i can judge this batch fairly.