frozen bottles of beer

[cageybee]

so I searched the site for "frozen beer" and I couldn't find any discussion about frozen bottled beer. I managed to freeze some bottles with my POS beer-cave fridge....and some of them leaked out of the cap. I tried one of the ones that had leaked....drinkable but somewhat bitter and somewhat flat. Are beers that have frozen salvageable (especially the ones that hadn't leaked) or should I just chuck'em? how depressing....

 

[JadeMonkeyStang]

If the cap/seal didn't leak then they should be alright, though you may notice some small differences in flavor. If they leaked they will definitely have less carbonation than when you bottled which will change the way you perceive the balance of flavors in the beer.

I would think with a normal amount of head space in the bottles they would all probably have leaked a bit, whether you can see the caps leaking or not is a different story.

Don't chuck them, you can always use the beer for cooking if you're not going to drink it.

 

[freisste]

How long did they carb/condition before freezing? If you froze the yeast before they were fully carbed, they may not carb completely. Not sure.

 

[cageybee]

they were fully carbed, and I don't leave as much head space as the lhbs guy does....an inch from the top. maybe i should leave more. I suspect that they may all have frozen to some degree...but only 4 leaked. love the idea about saving for cooking. I smoked some ribs this last weekend and wanted to put some beer in the pan, but didn't want to use MY beer for that. now I have some!

 

[JadeMonkeyStang]

love the idea about saving for cooking. I smoked some ribs this last weekend and wanted to put some beer in the pan, but didn't want to use MY beer for that. now I have some!

You're not the only one who has frozen beer on accident...