Keg = Frozen! What to expect?

[sonvolt]

I tried to pull a draft of my Amarillo Pale Ale tonight and all I got was a trickle . . . then nothing.

I opened the keg b/c I suspected . . . yep . . . frozen! We've been having a bit of a cold spell here in Central Illinois. My kegerator is turned down all the way, but I guess I might just unplug it.

Anyway, what will happen to this beer? I brought it inside to melt. Will it be ok? Anyone ever experience such a mishap? I have heard of folks freezing their lagers accidentally, but this one was carbed up in the keg.

 

[Pedro-]

ah this beer will be jus fine. just remember to drink er up quick since you popped the top.

 

[fifelee]

Take the lemons and make lemonade. Rack off the liquid and enjoy a concentrated ice beer.

 

[wild]

Charge the keg with CO2, purge the O2, then thaw it up to serving temp. The beer hasn't been damaged.

Enjoy,
Wild

 

[Desert_Sky]

Ok, you know how it goes......


Please send to us for proper disposal.

 

[sonvolt]

I take it that I'm not the only one for whom this has been a problem at some point. This morning, I unplugged my kegerator. I hope that this will keep the rest of my beers from freezing.

I told the wife I wanted to bring the whole operation from the garage into our house. She didn't seem too approving. :cross:

Anyway. The keg stayed inside last night to thaw. I gave it a gentle swirl this morning, and I could hear a few ice chunks swimming around in there. I think I will pop it back onto CO2 tonight. Hopefully, this will be ready for SuperBowl Sunday.

The whole fam is coming over to watch on big screen Hi Def. I promised to have three beers tapped . . . I hope I can keep them in drinking condition for the game.

 

[Orfy]

Pop the lid, drain the liquid, leave the ice and you got a distilled extra strength beer.

If you're in the US then don't tell the IRS or the FEDs.

 

[Ol' Grog]

That's happened to me a couple of times. Let it thaw and the brew will be fine. Make sure you purge the O2 out.

 

[david_42]

Go to your local hardware store and get some pipe heater tape. Wrap it around the inside of the kegger.

 

[stlbasementbrewer]

I had this happen when my 30 year old beverage aire died. RIP beer serving friend. Anyway, before the freezing, the beer was perfectly carbonated. I thawed the beer and it tasted fine, but due to the extreme temp drop, the beer sucked up the CO2. The beer was extremely overcarbonated. I had to remove it from pressure and purge the tank about 6 times to bleed off enough CO2 to get it back down. The overall flavor was not affected, and it actually aided in the clearing of the beer.

 

[alemonkey]

After it thaws, shake the keg just in case any solids have fallen out of suspension. I had this happen once and I got about 3-4 glasses of super heavy stuff, and the rest was like water.