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Author Topic: Cold Keg  (Read 3218 times)

Offline euge

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Cold Keg
« on: February 07, 2014, 04:47:37 pm »
It has been bitterly cold by our reckoning. Yesterday it hung around 31* most of the day got colder and it never got over 36*. Breezy too. I had a fresh keg of ale all carbed up that needed chilling and crashing perhaps.

So I put it on the back step around noon yesterday...




And I just put a very cold but not frozen keg of beer in the kegorator this evening after work...
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Offline Thirsty_Monk

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Re: Cold Keg
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2014, 04:54:19 pm »
See cold weather has it's own advantages :)
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Offline Iliff Ave

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Re: Cold Keg
« Reply #2 on: February 07, 2014, 05:19:22 pm »
I was afraid my kegs were going to freeze in the garage fridge with this cold snap that hit CO. I never took the temp in my garage but it would be safe to say it dropped below freezing with the negative temps outside. Luckily it warmed up to 40F today and I think I am in the clear for the next few days.
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Offline euge

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Re: Cold Keg
« Reply #3 on: February 07, 2014, 05:30:28 pm »
It's been much colder than usual. Last batch (last week) the ground-water was less than 55F! Didn't need any frozen bottles for that one...

Cold does have its advantages!
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline tcanova

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Re: Cold Keg
« Reply #4 on: February 07, 2014, 08:32:08 pm »
High today for us was 16 and I live in the south.  Planning on brewing tomorrow when it will be a balmy 34. 
What's the worst that could happen?  Beer?


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Offline fmader

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Re: Cold Keg
« Reply #5 on: February 07, 2014, 08:37:01 pm »
Going to turn the burner on tomorrow at a forecasted 9 degrees tomorrow morning.... Don't worry, there's going to be a heat wave in the afternoon that is going to sweat us out at 21 degrees!
Frank

Offline fmader

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Re: Cold Keg
« Reply #6 on: February 07, 2014, 08:42:12 pm »
I was afraid my kegs were going to freeze in the garage fridge with this cold snap that hit CO. I never took the temp in my garage but it would be safe to say it dropped below freezing with the negative temps outside. Luckily it warmed up to 40F today and I think I am in the clear for the next few days.

I wouldn't be too concerned about this.... I don't think lol. I have a fridge out in the garage and trust me, it's been WELL below freezing in there during this Siberian winter we've had around here with temps being -10 a handful of times. It's just a cinder block garage, so I know it's close to ambient temps in there. I don't have kegs in the fridge, but I have a couple cases of beer in there. None of them have froze this winter. What did freeze was all of my harvested yeast. Yeah, I'm a little bitter about that one!
Frank

Offline denny

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Re: Cold Keg
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2014, 10:47:57 am »
See cold weather has it's own advantages :)

No kidding!  My beer fridge has room for 3 kegs in it, but we have an old canning closet just outside the front door.  This time of year I can keep another 3-5 kegs on tap in there.
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Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: Cold Keg
« Reply #8 on: February 08, 2014, 07:58:09 pm »
At this point, I just hope the beer lines don't freeze!  Single digits in my garage!
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Offline fmader

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Re: Cold Keg
« Reply #9 on: February 08, 2014, 08:12:55 pm »
At this point, I just hope the beer lines don't freeze!  Single digits in my garage!

Put a thermometer in your freezer and monitor the temp. If you you're really concerned about it, you could suspend a utility lamp in it somehow and plug it into your temp controller. Flip it to the heat side and set it at 38 degrees or whatever you normally run your freezer at. I used to hang a utility lamp on the water pipes in a crawl space I had at my old house. Those puppies throw off some heat.
Frank

Offline chumley

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Re: Cold Keg
« Reply #10 on: February 10, 2014, 11:13:47 am »
I had a keg of hefeweizen freeze several years ago.  It left a two inch rupture in the top next to the oval lid.  :(

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Cold Keg
« Reply #11 on: February 10, 2014, 12:20:26 pm »
I had a keg of hefeweizen freeze several years ago.  It left a two inch rupture in the top next to the oval lid.  :(

Ouch.  Most expensive batch you ever brewed, probably.

This weather is perfect for chilling beer for parties, but you can't forget about it.
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Offline Slowbrew

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Re: Cold Keg
« Reply #12 on: February 10, 2014, 01:00:12 pm »
We don't leave anything sitting outside this time of year. 

Woke up to -9 this morning.  Predicted high is 9.  At least not much wind today.  I think we are supposed to see low 30s by next week.  I'm not brewing till next week on Friday.  By then it could 50 degs or 15 below.  This year has been a roller coaster.

Paul
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Offline beersk

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Re: Cold Keg
« Reply #13 on: February 10, 2014, 02:46:05 pm »
We don't leave anything sitting outside this time of year. 

Woke up to -9 this morning.  Predicted high is 9.  At least not much wind today.  I think we are supposed to see low 30s by next week.  I'm not brewing till next week on Friday.  By then it could 50 degs or 15 below.  This year has been a roller coaster.

Paul
Been the worst winter, temperature-wise, I've ever experienced. Man it sucks.
But the advantages are I can chill lager wort down to 50F in about 20 minutes. Really liked that on Saturday.
Jesse

Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: Cold Keg
« Reply #14 on: February 11, 2014, 05:36:38 am »
At this point, I just hope the beer lines don't freeze!  Single digits in my garage!

Put a thermometer in your freezer and monitor the temp. If you you're really concerned about it, you could suspend a utility lamp in it somehow and plug it into your temp controller. Flip it to the heat side and set it at 38 degrees or whatever you normally run your freezer at. I used to hang a utility lamp on the water pipes in a crawl space I had at my old house. Those puppies throw off some heat.

Good point - I do that with my fermentation chest for lagers to keep it at 50F and run heat wraps on my ales to get them to low 60's on a table in the garage.  Thankfully, I also have an electric heater for the garage that I run at its lowest temperature to allow for better results.  I would run the garage heater all the time if I could justify the expense - making the whole garage a lagering chest!
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