Why do some beers freeze?

Post by **lomuamart** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 12:06 pm

This is a question I've been asking myself for years here. I didn't think that alcohol was meant to freeze, but having just opened a bottle of Chang, it promptly blew up in my face.
Yes, it's been in the freezer compartment overnight, but the next one I opened didn't explode and I'm enjoying it now. The bomb squad took the other away.
Before all you rocket scientists get in on the act, I will state that this dosn't usually happen. I can even remember years ago, when I had a bar here, trying to explain to my ex that it wasn't a good idea to switch the fridge off at night - it used more electricity to cool the drinks down the next day. Eventually, she relented and I set the fridge. The next day, half our stock was beyond redemption - broken glass etc etc.
So, why some bottles and not others?

JW · Post by JW » Sat Jul 22, 2006 1:25 pm

Up to the Oche - Guess, Jamie or Jockey me thinks!

Post by **PeteC** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 2:34 pm

Herein may lie some clues Lomu, plus some other interesting things about beer. Pete

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a950901.html

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/oc ... .Ch.r.html

http://www.xs4all.nl/~patto1ro/beertemp.htm

PS: The bits and pieces I drew from the above is perhaps 1) Some beers may have more water in them than others, even same name brand and same batch? 2) The seal/top is not as tight on some bottles/cans as it may be on others?

Post by **lomuamart** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 3:46 pm

Good stuff, Pete. Thanks.
I particularly liked the second and third links.
I suppose I'll have to try and open another one. Beer that is!!
The thing is, for me, that lager MUST be cold. Ale should be at room temperature. And I'm getting this post off before the rain knackers my internet again.

Post by **lomuamart** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 3:55 pm

That was lucky. It just did and may again.
The wonders of communication in wet weather. Suppose that's another thread?

Post by **Guess** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 4:30 pm

Everthing in the universe has a freezing point and a gas poiint. I.e. all substances change from gas down to liquid and then down to solid with the lowering of temperature. Water, the most common liquid on Earth freezes at 0 degrees Celsius and becomes gas at 100 degrees Celcius. This is what the Celsius scale is based upon. It also has to be noted that these figure are based on presure being normal. I.e. the pressure at ground level in an open area. I believe from memory that it is about 15 psi.

Bottles are filled normal at that pressure but the continuing fermantaion procees produces gases that can increase the pressure within.

Beer is mainly water (about 90% in your case), the remainder is sugar and alcohol and some flavourings from the other ingredients. For this argument the flavourings have little effect.

By adding things to water you can change the freezing point. In the case of both sugar and alcohol the freezing point is lowered. A beer will almost certainly explode in a domestic or bar freezer if left long enough but a bottle of sherry or vodka will not.

Even though manufacturers try to make every bottle of beer of a particular brand consistent they are not always successful and it is quite feasible to have the odd one that will freeze or explode when the others are still OK. A tiny amount more of yeast or the fact that one bottle is sitting right on one of the fluid pipes in the freezer/fridge could make all the difference necessary.

If you would like to test this theory try putting a can of Diet Coke, a can of ordinary Coke and a can of Chang in the freezer and see which order they explode. The freezer would obviously have to be cold enough to freeze the Chang.

It would be advisable to put a TV on top of the fidge when conducting the experiment so that you had some to look at other than the fridge door.

No animals are mistreated in this experiment.

Post by **lomuamart** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 6:58 pm

OK.
I understand now. So, it didn't have anything to do with my shaking the bottle before I put it in the fridge then?

Post by **PeteC** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 7:58 pm

This made me think about the different way beer bottles are capped and way back in the dark spaces of my mind, I remember some German beer that actually had a cork type device and a metal clamp ring around the upper neck. Similar to the way grandma used to jar and put up fruits and vegetables in the root cellar...LOL. Maybe the beer began with the letter "G"...I don't know? Pete

Post by **lomuamart** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 8:10 pm

Grolsch.
Overpriced and not strong enough, Pete.

Post by **Guess** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 5:29 am

lomuamart wrote:OK.
I understand now. So, it didn't have anything to do with my shaking the bottle before I put it in the fridge then?

Yes it did. By shaking a closed hermatically sealed bottle of beer gases are released and the pressure inside will increase This means that the combined pressure increase due the the shaking and the formation of ice would reach the limit of the bottles pressure ceiling and make it burst quicker.

The best remedy for this if it happens again is to scoop up all the debris cause by the expolosiion including the odd frozen pea and that 200 baht peice of puff that you lost last year and put them all into the sink ensuring that the plug is firmly in place. When everyhting has settled and the beer has once again returned to a liquid form fish out the frozen pea and the peice of hash and syphon the remaining liquid into a coffee pot via a filter. The beer will once again become drinkable If it tastes a bit flat you can always top it up with a freshly opened cold but still liquid bottle of Chang.

The process can always be sped up by placing all the froxen debris into a bowl and microwaving it for five minutes on defrost. By placing the lump of hash into the microwave at the same time will dry it out and make it easier to crumble up into a joint.

Post by **PeteC** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 2:20 pm

Guess wrote:
lomuamart wrote:OK.
I understand now. So, it didn't have anything to do with my shaking the bottle before I put it in the fridge then?
Yes it did. By shaking a closed hermatically sealed bottle of beer gases are released and the pressure inside will increase This means that the combined pressure increase due the the shaking and the formation of ice would reach the limit of the bottles pressure ceiling and make it burst quicker.

Thanks concerning the Grolsh Guess, that is it.

Concerning the above, time to be devils advocate. In a previous post you correctly stated that higher temps will cause a liquid to turn to gas and lower temps to a solid. When you shake a beer it releases gas. Then, by chilling it, this gas should dissipate and reduce the pressure initially caused by the shaking. When it gets to a point of freezing, the gas should not be a factor at all? Sounds logical to me and I haven't had a brewski yet today...LOL.

Pete

Post by **lomuamart** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:19 am

Good expanations, people. Thanks.
I've found that resetting the temp of the freezer compartment seems to help.
And BTW, I was only joking about shaking the bottle before laying it to rest overnight.
However, I'm sort of convinced that some of the bottles don't have their tops put on properly and so the air getting in there adds to the freezing process.
Again, I'm definitely not a scientist. That's just an innocent observation.
Comments?

Post by **Jaime** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:37 am

lomuamart wrote:However, I'm sort of convinced that some of the bottles don't have their tops put on properly and so the air getting in there adds to the freezing process.
Again, I'm definitely not a scientist. That's just an innocent observation.
Comments?

Cans of beer also freeze Lomu, so I don't think it's the air but then again what do I know? Personally, I'd rather put my faith in the following, which I saw next to an article on do-it-yourself brazilians in a womens' magazine, whilst waiting for my crack wax:

True fact: The freezing point of beer is the same as that of squirrel urine.

Post by **Jaime** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:39 am

prcscct wrote:In a previous post you correctly stated that higher temps will cause a liquid to turn to gas and lower temps to a solid.

Sounds exactly like my digestive system!

Post by **lomuamart** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:58 am

Jaime wrote:
lomuamart wrote:However, I'm sort of convinced that some of the bottles don't have their tops put on properly and so the air getting in there adds to the freezing process.
Again, I'm definitely not a scientist. That's just an innocent observation.
Comments?
Cans of beer also freeze Lomu, so I don't think it's the air but then again what do I know? Personally, I'd rather put my faith in the following, which I saw next to an article on do-it-yourself brazilians in a womens' magazine, whilst waiting for my crack wax:

True fact: The freezing point of beer is the same as that of squirrel urine.

True enough and I'll bow to you superior knowledge of squirrel unine.
However, if you'd been to a local beach today with some other ex-pats, I still can't understand why we were all going on about ferrets.

Then again, over here we've nothing much else to discuss after a few cold - unexploded - beers and floating in the sea.
The women didn't seem happy about our general behavior. Then again, they've never experienced ice cold beer that gives the opener a hard time - or ferrets, for that matter.