Answering directly to this question, Yes! Beer can freeze. Unlike vodka, who does not freeze in a regular freezer, beer, due to its significant amount of water, has more chances to freeze in our home freezer.
It would be great to put the beers in the freezer without additional concerns, but overnight, the beer is entirely icy. Why? Well, first water, alcohol and sugar combined to increase the time needed to it to freeze.
As the alcohol and sugar have a lower freezing temperature than water, it slows down the freezing.
What can happen to frozen beer?
Drinking a beer or craft beer that was frozen before is the worst thing ever. Besides the fact of having losing its chemicals and natural flavours, the texture and the sparkly moment has gone down the drain.
When you left the beer in the freezer for more than 8 hours, for example, the extra pressure that builds up in the bottle could force the cap off and break the bottle.
If this happens, the beer properties are entirely gone. If don’t, the beer won’t lose its components, but the flavour will not be the same.
In case of freezing just partially, it’s not a drama. In fact, you can put it in the fridge waiting for the ice to melt and then drink it like usual.
However, if you want to drink it but you’re not sure due to the ice crystals in the beer bottle, don’t worry. It will just increase the amount of alcohol inside because it has less liquid water to merge in.
At which temperature does beer and craft Freeze?
Depending on the AVB, craft beer can freeze at different temperatures. Usually from 4 to 12 % AVB, the highest the alcohol the lowest the freezing point. Which means that a lower AVB beer will freeze faster than a 12 % AVB beer.
The freezing point (°C) of beer = (-0.42 × A) + (0.04 × E) + 0.2, where A is the % of alcohol content by weight, and E is the original gravity of the wort (°Plato).
Therefore, each 1% increase in alcohol content lowers the freezing point by 0.42° C and each increase in the gravity of 1° Plato raise it by 0.04°C.
Thus, no beer will freeze at -1°C, and products at higher alcohol concentrations (including high-gravity brews prior to dilution) will withstand even lower temperatures.
Although we are giving you the right formula to calculate the exact freezing point of each beer, this is usually used by brewers to make ice-cold beer or to change the recipe and flavours during fermentation.
As we are craft beer lovers, let’s let this decision and attempts to professional and homebrewers, and try not to freeze any incredible beer.
But don’t worry! You can still drink beer during winter.
Check our website and find the right craft beer for you.
