I kegged a blonde ale about 10 days ago, carbed it for a few days, and then had to repurpose my chest freezer as a fermentation chamber for a newly brewed batch.
Luckily, or so I thought, I'd just come into possession of an old mini-fridge. I put my keg and CO2 bottle inside, turned the temp down as low as it would go, and went away for five or six days. No idea why, but I thought the fridge could not get cold enough to matter.
False.
My tap line was frozen solid. There was beer in my gas line. And the surface of my three gallon keg measures about 26F roughly 20 minutes after taking teh keg out of the fridge. There is also a thin layer of ice on the outside of my keg. I take all of this to mean the beer is frozen solid, or close to it.
My reading on this site tells me my beer is probably OK. It may be more clear, which is a benefit with this style. The yeast may or may not be dead, but I do not plan to bottle, just to carb, so that is not an issue either.
I want to completely thaw this beer, and then chill it and serve it tomorrow night. Is this possible? Room temp is about 78F, or I could put it somewhere cooler. I could even put it back in the fridge either unplugged or set at a high setting (of course, I've demonstrated I have no idea what the settings on this old fridge mean.
How long should this take to thaw, and how can I be sure it is fully thawed without taking the lid off of the keg? Any particular procedures I should try or avoid?
Luckily, or so I thought, I'd just come into possession of an old mini-fridge. I put my keg and CO2 bottle inside, turned the temp down as low as it would go, and went away for five or six days. No idea why, but I thought the fridge could not get cold enough to matter.
False.
My tap line was frozen solid. There was beer in my gas line. And the surface of my three gallon keg measures about 26F roughly 20 minutes after taking teh keg out of the fridge. There is also a thin layer of ice on the outside of my keg. I take all of this to mean the beer is frozen solid, or close to it.
My reading on this site tells me my beer is probably OK. It may be more clear, which is a benefit with this style. The yeast may or may not be dead, but I do not plan to bottle, just to carb, so that is not an issue either.
I want to completely thaw this beer, and then chill it and serve it tomorrow night. Is this possible? Room temp is about 78F, or I could put it somewhere cooler. I could even put it back in the fridge either unplugged or set at a high setting (of course, I've demonstrated I have no idea what the settings on this old fridge mean.
How long should this take to thaw, and how can I be sure it is fully thawed without taking the lid off of the keg? Any particular procedures I should try or avoid?