Does Beer Freeze?

Credit: Yelp

 

As temperatures outside go up, you want the temperature of your beer to go down. You can always count on an ice-cold beer along the Flagstaff-Grand Canyon Ale Trail. But some days, going past your front porch isn’t happening.

How can you still enjoy that chilled taste from your favorite Flagstaff brewery without leaving your house? Our suggestion: Try freezing your beer.

So, Does Beer Freeze?

The simple answer: yes. You can freeze beer by putting your six-pack or growler  in the freezer for a few hours. If your beer still isn’t cold, try popping the bottle cap—but don’t leave it in the freezer too long. After it’s open, beer freezes rapidly.

When Does Beer Freeze?

That depends on the alcohol content of the beer.

Since beer contains a high volume of water, it freezes at a relatively higher temperature than you’d expect. However, beer contains alcohol, so it still freezes at a lower temperature than water.

Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, while beer freezes at around 24-28 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure your freezer isn’t hovering around 32 degrees if you want to freeze your beer.

Why Does Beer Freeze?

The alcohol content in beer averages around 4-8%. That means aside from all the great ingredients in beer, beer is mostly water. Since water freezes, so does beer.

When beer freezes, the water molecules change from liquid to ice crystals. These crystals exclude the alcohol, sugar, and other ingredient molecules in the beer. Even if beer is mostly frozen, some liquid will still pour our—and it will be high in alcohol content!

Spirits have an alcohol content between 35-70%—a number too high to reach frozen levels. That’s why you can store hard liquor in the freezer without it ever freezing.

Does Freezing Beer Change It?

Freezing a beer doesn’t ruin the flavors or spoil the beer—as long as it’s in a sealed container.

As the beer freezes, the solubility of carbon dioxide increases. With a tightly sealed container and careful thawing, the carbonation won’t leak out of the beer.

Do you freeze beer? Share your stories below.