Eeeek! Have I Wrecked This Brew?

[j1gsaw]

Hi Gang,
I have an old chest freezer that i use to keep my fermenters cool etc, i just turn it on for an hr, then off, and it keeps the temp around 18 deg for 5/6 hrs which is prime. I have also obtained a coolmaster temp control in which im soon to apply.
NOW.... guess what i did last night... accidently left one keg of Draught in the freezer.. got up this morn, rememered the freezer was on, screamed like a girl and rushed out to check it... short story is... ice ice ice.. The keg was iced over, bubbler frozen, about 3 inches solid on the bottom, and same near the top... i could squeeze the side wall a bit but thats all.
Soooo.... is it destined for the sink??
I was due to bottle the stuff today which annoys me even more...
Any thoughts??

 

[jeremy]

If you were due to bottle, I assume it had finished fermenting, which means you should be fine i think.

Will probably be some more schools of thought on this, but if there are frozen bits in the brew, i would give it a couple of days to warm up at room temperature, then bottle as normal.

You could probably bottle now (I would keg as-is) but with the way things tend to expand / contract when they warm / cool I wouldnt risk it.

 

[Franko]

The brew will be fine, just let it thaw out and bottle or keg as normal.

Franko

 

[adraine]

j1gsaw

i too have done the same thing. although not quite as bad

Check my post and the following threads [topic="0"]Click me![/topic]

 

[reviled]

Wouldnt the yeast be dead? So bottling wouldnt work cos it wont carb up? I may be wrong :huh:

 

[Swinging Beef]

Wouldnt the yeast be dead? So bottling wouldnt work cos it wont carb up? I may be wrong :huh:

Im with you.
I reckon, pitch more yeast when you rack for bottling.
If its not dead it is sure gonna be annoyed and tired. B)

 

[raven19]

Wouldnt the yeast be dead? So bottling wouldnt work cos it wont carb up? I may be wrong :huh:

Excess heat will kill yeast, but cold - I assume it just slows it right down to a halt. As the middle section of fermentor wort/beer is still not quite frozen, then I wouldve thought letting it come back up to room temperature would let things continue as normal (albeit a while to wake the yeasties up).

Make sure it has thawed completely before bottling. I dare say it aint going to happen today...

On a side note - it may end up being a really clear beer as on the way to freezing, things shouldve settled out a fair bit!

 

[j1gsaw]

I was under the impression that seeing it had finished fermenting, I shouldnt have any worries with the yeast??
It has been in the barrel for 12 days as it is, bloody Bohemian yeast!

 

[Swinging Beef]

I was under the impression that seeing it had finished fermenting, I shouldnt have any worries with the yeast??

you will need your yeast alive for bottle conditioning
not important for force carbing

 

[mwd]

I think you may be confusing people a bit j1gsaw referring to a fermenter as a 'Keg'.

I am also of the opinion that freezing will actually kill the active yeast. Time will tell.

I suppose you are going to call this one "Maximum Ice" or something similar

You can always repitch another yeast starter if it does turn out to be dead and does not start up after a couple of days.

Need some active yeast for carbonate if bottling

 

[j1gsaw]

Just spoke to my local HB store... looks like im finding a tree i dont like in the yard and its having a draught bath! Thanks for the tips gents.

 

[PostModern]

Just spoke to my local HB store... looks like im finding a tree i dont like in the yard and its having a draught bath! Thanks for the tips gents.

Why???

 

[Adamt]

So, you ask experienced brewers on this forum if your beer is ruined, EVERYONE says "it'll be fine", then you call up your HBS and they say "turf it". Why the hell did you even bother asking us? Oh... that's why. We (mostly) know what we're talking about.

 

[Ross]

Just spoke to my local HB store... looks like im finding a tree i dont like in the yard and its having a draught bath! Thanks for the tips gents.

Don't tip it - the person you spoke to is a dill, unless you gave him/her different info !!!


Cheers Ross

 

[bradsbrew]

Just spoke to my local HB store... looks like im finding a tree i dont like in the yard and its having a draught bath! Thanks for the tips gents.

Let me guess they told you it was stuffed, tip it out and come down to the shop and buy some more ingredients.

 

[j1gsaw]

Well for starters, he informed me that A, the yeast will be dead
B, even if it has minor life, it will taste shocking in the end (like when you freeze a stubbie and thaw out taste)
C, whats the point in bottling 30 tallies only to have the possibility of them being crap?
Id rather put a new brew down then have to repitch and wait another long session to see if it will kick up again.

oh, by the way, got enough tickets on yourself there AdamT... ?

 

[Adamt]

I was referring to the posters above me that knew what they were talking about.

A: The yeast will be asleep/inactive, pitch more.
B: Bullshit.
C. Then taste some before you bottle it.

 

[Adamt]

Oh yeah, partially freezing beer after fermentation and removing some of the ice is a common method for strengthening beer in Germany (called "eisbier"), as the frozen parts contain very little of the alcohol. It seems you are after strong beer from seeing your previous topics, so here's your chance.

 

[reviled]

Yeah dont tip it, what a waste of good beer.. Theres even a style of beer called eisbock which is made by freezing the base beer on purpose, and that dont taste like shit

edit : dam, Adamt beat me to it <_<

 

[PostModern]

Well for starters, he informed me that A, the yeast will be dead
B, even if it has minor life, it will taste shocking in the end (like when you freeze a stubbie and thaw out taste)
C, whats the point in bottling 30 tallies only to have the possibility of them being crap?
Id rather put a new brew down then have to repitch and wait another long session to see if it will kick up again.

oh, by the way, got enough tickets on yourself there AdamT... ?

A: pitch some more yeast into a bottling bucket when you prime the batch.
B: No it won't.
C: If the beer was OK before you froze it, it will be fine now. It'll only be "crap" if it already was.