Frozen corny keg...

[bjanu]

Oooops. I recently cold crashed a corny keg with a blonde Ale I was brewing. And, somehow, the temp on my fridge was turned way down and the keg froze solid——unfortunately it also leaked in the process. Beer came out through the valves.

So....this had never happened before. I am bummed because I think it’s ruined. Don’t know how much air entered and not sure what was done on the molecular level when this turned into a popsicle.

So here’s the question: once thawed, do I go through the process of filtering and carbonating or just start over?

Anyone experience something similar?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I'm in the middle of this right now only in a ferm bucket. Doesn't taste much different then before it froze, clearest beer I've ever made at this point. I wouldn't be tossing it before trying it. That would be silly.

 

[sillbeer]

I've froze a keg or two in the past. My probe accidentally fell out of my chest freezer and..... Seems when I carbonated it it wasn't quite right. Maybe I was impatient.

 

[ITV]

My keezer's temperature controller relay stuck in the closed position and I didn't notice it for 3 days. The temp went down to -25 deg F. I unplugged it and let it gradually rise up to serving temp (38 deg) which took 4 days. Nothing was ruined and the beer taste was unaffected. I made sure that I didn't try to dispense beer while it was frozen.

 

[isomerization]

I’d be more concerned with damage to the keg. Also, if beer came out from expanding, then I doubt much O2 came in. Thawing, assuming nothing is damaged, shouldn’t let O2 back in.