I had one fully carbonated keg, and two being carbonated in my chest freezer with a Johnson controller at 40 degrees.
The probe fell out of the freezer without me noticing, and all three kegs froze rock solid. Last night when I noticed this, I took them out and they thawed over night. They are now back in the keezer. I’ll try them when I get home tonight.
Any thoughts?
seems like the answer, based on history, is… it depends. I have read that it can really improve some beers and others lose some flavor complexity. What kind of beer was it?
It’s your product so your taste buds are going to have to be the final arbiter.
The two kegs carbonating were our flagship Amber. (6.3%) and the one is a higher octane (8%) of the same beer.
I did this same thing a few years ago. Ended up with the clearest Kolsch I’d ever brewed :). As soon as I figured out what happened, I rushed to my laptop to search and found that it is a very common occurrence. I was particularly lucky because not only did I have a couple of kegs in there, but I had a glass carboy too! Fortunately, it didn’t break. Funny thing about the Kolsch is after it had thawed a bit, I poured a pint of Kolsch and noticed it was darker than I remembered. Upon tasting it, I discovered that it was MUCH stronger than I remembered. For a short period, I was enjoying an Eiskolsch! :o
If the taste, ABV, or color comes out different than what you’re used to with your flagship beer, just market it as a specialty release. That is assuming it still tastes good, which I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t taste good. It just may not be exactly the same as that beer usually is. But really, what beer is exactly the same?? :-\
Well, thanks for the thoughts guys. I’m feeling better.
Well, I tried it last night, and you all were right on, did a side by side with a keg that was in the kegerator, and it tastes just like our Amber. It was a little flat, but that’s easy to remedy.
That’s good to hear in case I ever do that! ;D