One of many moments of complete idiocy...

[TheZymurgist]

Last Wednesday I went to cold crash a Pumpkin Ale, only to find out yesterday that I forgot to put the temp probe in the freezer. Luckily there was plenty of head space for it to expand, and it didn't even make it to the top of the carboy. Now I have a giant pumpkin beer-cicle. :smack::smack::smack:

The only problem is that I was hoping to have this kegged and carbed ready for Thanksgiving. Looks like that might not be possible, unless it thaws quickly.

I knew it would happen eventually...

 

[NivekD]

Wow...just...Wow.

 

[evrose]

Float it in warm (not hot) water in the bathtub! Maybe...

gosh... I really have no idea what I'd do with that. Amazing.

 

[seph]

Wow indeed.

 

[skitamofo]

Beer ice cubes for drinks!

 

[Psycotte]

Ahhhhh!!! I want to laugh....but if it were me I would cry....

 

[Melana]

You *said* that you wanted to cold crash it...

 

[Seven]

At least now you know your freezer is working properly

 

[girdwood]

I had the same thing happen to my first Subliminator Doppelbock (first lager I did). My fridge is vintage and not quite the most consistent... temp controller was well worth the investment after that screw up! haha

 

[GuldTuborg]

It's time to make some "Pumpkin Jack."

 

[the_trout]

It takes a big man to share such an epic mistake.

 

[TheZymurgist]

I definitely had to laugh at myself for this one. So far my batting average has been great, so I really can't complain. I did consider letting it thaw only 80 or 90 percent, and then racking into the keg, creating a sort of Ice-Pumpkin Beer, but I don't think that'd be a good experiment with my first Pumpkin Ale.

 

[Bierliebhaber]

I definitely had to laugh at myself for this one. So far my batting average has been great, so I really can't complain. I did consider letting it thaw only 80 or 90 percent, and then racking into the keg, creating a sort of Ice-Pumpkin Beer, but I don't think that'd be a good experiment with my first Pumpkin Ale.

You could call it Eisstein.

 

[ChefRex]

In the plus column, you didn't crack the carboy

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Mmmm...pumpkin beer snow cones.

 

[day_trippr]

That really is a stunning picture.

Be interested to hear what happens next

Cheers!

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

The New Charlie Brown Holiday Special - Snoopy's Sno Cone Maker Meets the Great Pumpkin.

 

[signpost]

Other than the delay, I can't think of any reason this wouldn't be fine in the long run.

Not bad for such an epic seeming mistake.

 

[TheZymurgist]

Other than the delay, I can't think of any reason this wouldn't be fine in the long run.

Not bad for such an epic seeming mistake.

I agree. It's actually thawing out much quicker than expected, and I think I'll be able to rack it into the keg this evening. I'll do a quick force carb, and hopefully it will be ready for Thursday. I'll let you know how it turns out, unfortunately, since it's my first time with this recipe, I won't have anything to compare it to, to see if there are any attributes from the freezing effect.

 

[Psycotte]

Borrowing a Coors line (ugh) you could name it Frost Brewed Pumpkin Ale.

 

[chemman14]

I am so glad you included a pic.

 

[estricklin]

Yep, you effed up good n' proper this time, now my stupid ass will probably do the same thing!

 

[zmanzorro]

I'm assuming that you would force carbonate this? Can't imagine the yeast surviving that.

 

[TheZymurgist]

I'm assuming that you would force carbonate this? Can't imagine the yeast surviving that.

Absolutely. I've heard legends of people being able to carb naturally after such an event, but I would never attempt it.

 

[signpost]

I've read of people purposely freezing yeast to save it longer than if they just put it in the fridge. But that might be small samples that have to be grown up in a multi-step starter. I have no idea how the entire yeast cake from this batch might react to the freezing.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

I've read of people purposely freezing yeast to save it longer than if they just put it in the fridge. But that might be small samples that have to be grown up in a multi-step starter. I have no idea how the entire yeast cake from this batch might react to the freezing.

You have to stabilize the yeast in glycerin or something to do this properly - just freezing yeast ruptures cell membranes and all sorts of nastiness. Whatever yeast survives the freezing process is unlikely to be a happy or healthy yeast.

 

[signpost]

Cool. You can probably tell I didn't read about that topic very thoroughly.

 

[cclloyd]

I did the same thing with a Dead Guy clone a couple years ago. The beer turned out fine after thawing but it had nearly zero hop flavor or aroma. Not a ton in that beer to begin with but it flattened the hop character. Not likely a problem with a pumpkin beer though.

 

[Darwin18]

If it makes you feel any better, I froze a keg of California Common a few months back. After letting it thaw, it tasted disgustingly alcoholic - It didn't occur to me that the beer in the keg had stratified. After mixing it up, it tasted just fine. It scored a 35 in a recent competition. Not saying that's the case in your situation, but I would personally let it thaw and pitch a packet of dry yeast. Also, I would not trust the stability of that carboy after freezing and unfreezing it - examine it closely for cracks before you lift it after it thaws.

 

[the_trout]

Also, I would not trust the stability of that carboy after freezing and unfreezing it - examine it closely for cracks before you lift it after it thaws.

+1 to that. I use glass and don't consider myself overly worrisome but I would consider retiring that particular carboy.

 

[TheZymurgist]

Yeah, it's definitely not worth the risk. I have no issues with that since I was considering switching back to plastic anyway.

 

[TheZymurgist]

So I kegged and carbed this, and it was ready for Thanksgiving, but unfortunately it tastes vegetal. I don't think that's a result of the freezing, but I'm not 100% sure on that. It could be that a cream ale might be too light of a base for a pumpkin beer. I'm going to give it a couple weeks and see if time will improve it any.