Thermometers and Frozen Beer

[thistleglassgirl]

I have two questions!

1. What's the best thermometer to have in a kegerator? I have a Kegco brand, and I was thinking to mount one inside. Is a regular fridge thermometer good or is there something better for a kegerator? Any particular brands/models? Currently the only thing I have is the numbers 1-6 on a dial...which totally sucks at monitoring/maintaining proper temperature...

...which brings me to my next question:

2. I've been having problems with kegs freezing. I've let them thaw out, shook them up and tried the beer again the next day, but it tastes super thick, as if the water separated from the alcohol. Does that make sense? Is there anything I can do to fix beer that has been frozen and thawed, but still tastes like super sweet syrup? My IPA is alright, just a little darker, but my malty beers are really pretty gross.

I hope I don't have to toss all three kegs that have frozen, but I do want to make sure this won't happen again either way...

Thanks for your help!

 

[Wynne-R]

A refrigerator thermometer should work fine. They have a very slow response time to average out the big temperature swings in the kegerator.

If you take the beer out and check the temp in the empty kegerator I think you’ll find the regulator is not working. If that’s the case you could use an external temperature controller.

As for fixing the frozen beer it shouldn’t be difficult at all. I suspect your beer wasn’t quite thawed. The beer doesn’t really freeze, the water does. It’s kind of a beer slushy, not a beer popsicle. It takes a lot of heat to melt ice. Thawing your kegs will take many hours, if not days.