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By Steve
#8110
It happens to me fairly often that I want to cool down a can of beer quickly and put it in the freezer - but then forget about it. Next day, the can is burst open and the beer is frozen - and once your beer melts, it tastes flat and ugly.

I've heard though that it's not the freezing process that causes the beer to go flat, but that the carbonation gets lost during thawing (when the can isn't airtight anymore). If true, a beer (de)compression chamber might be the answer - put the frozen can inside and save your precious beer from ending up in the sink.

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By dreamit
#20698
I love it that your idea deals with the frozen beer - not the fact that you're forgetting your beer in there in the first place. What about a little alarm on a band you slip onto the can when you put it in the freezer?
By Rishi
#20819
Frozen beer has a larger volume than liquid beer. The can is too thin to contain this. What you need is a compression chamber to prevent the can burst. All you need is a thick walled Aluminum vessel with a screw on lid in which a beer can will fit snugly. Any left over space can be filled with a non toxic antifreeze like propylene glycol. This can be bunged into the fridge. If retrieved after a long hiatus, can be thawed without harming contents.

rishi
User avatar
By Steve
#20822
Hi rishi - nice talking to you again. ;)

The main question I was asking myself was: If you ALREADY have a busted can with frozen beer, is there a way to save the beer, i.e. thaw it without losing the carbonation? :b
By Rishi
#20823
Steve wrote:Hi rishi - nice talking to you again. ;)

The main question I was asking myself was: If you ALREADY have a busted can with frozen beer, is there a way to save the beer, i.e. thaw it without losing the carbonation? :b
Dear Steve,
You do come up with unusual situations, which are challenging from a science point of view.
The problem is that the solid beer will have to warm up a bit for it to become liquid. Unfortunately carbon dioxide would still be in the gaseous state and will escape. So we still need a container like the one suggested to keep the gas in.
How about a spout with a valve fitted to the lid that will let you thaw the brew and let you drink it from inside and outside the can.
You can float th idea of a canned can after the fourth at some congenial pub perhaps. As a tee totaller I have only an academic interest. :~(
rishi
User avatar
By Steve
#20824
Rishi wrote:How about a spout with a valve fitted to the lid that will let you thaw the brew and let you drink it from inside and outside the can.
Yep - but I'm not convinced that you'd be able to get that truely airtight. :-? (Although, if anyone, probably you could. O:) )

Alternative: A pipe with a closed bottom that has just the diameter of a can (guess they have a standard width). You slide in the can quickly (before it takes on ice on the outside). Then you'd have some sort of "dynamic" lid you can slide into the pipe (some cans are bigger than others). The lid will need a rubber seal of some sort, to make sure it's fully airtight (maybe combine that with a simple mechanical "switch" that'll extend the seal).

According to my research, the CO2 is basically kicked out of the water once it freezes, but it's still there, trapped between the ice crystals. It escapes once the beer thaws - provided of course it has somewhere to escape to, if not, it'll return into the water.

(And yes, I guess that makes it a compression chamber. ;) )
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