Frozen beer - An ice cube to bottle

Meaulnes

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I was about to bottle my beer when, to my surprise, I discovered that my "cold crash" had ended with a superb ice cube (18 liters at -6 °F).
How to explain this accident. In reality it is all my fault. I use an old freezer for this that I control by an Inkbird thermostat. The problem is that when cleaning the freezer that I had done before placing my fermenter, I forgot to put the temperature sensor of the thermostat back in. As a result, my freezer started to work like a normal freezer, i.e. with its own thermostat. Moreover I did not supervise.
My first instinct was to tell myself that my hop sorbet didn't deserve better than the trash. But reading a few stories of similar adventures on the web, I came to believe that there was something I could do.
For now, the beer is heating up slowly and will soon exceed the freezing point. I tell myself that if I wait for it to reach the low inoculation temperature limit, I will be able to add a little fresh yeast to it before starting the carbonation.
I do not know if anyone among you has experienced such a mishap, but I am interested in any feedback. For my part, I will keep you informed of the result in a few weeks.
 
I was about to bottle my beer [...] I will be able to add a little fresh yeast to it before starting the carbonation.
I first though you might be talking about wort, but if is fully fermented "beer", then scrape off some ice and go for an ice bock! :D
Otherwise, sure a bit of yeast once you are above 0°C should work as usual.
 
I first though you might be talking about wort, but if is fully fermented "beer", then scrape off some ice and go for an ice bock! :D
Otherwise, sure a bit of yeast once you are above 0°C should work as usual.
Do you really think I can pitch the new yeast just above 0 °C ? A full day has passed and the temperature is still -2 °C!
 
If all you are looking for is carbonation, I don't see why not...
Obviously it still isn't going to do much until it has reached a temp at which it will become active, but as long as you don't freeze it, it shouldn't hurt it.
....I assume you will also be adding some sort of "food" for the yeast at some point too!?
 
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Data point: A 12 pound turkey takes a couple of days to thaw in the fridge from frozen.
Your 18 liters may take more than a day or two.
 
Just get it back up to bottling temp, throw in the sugar and some dry champagne yeast or beer yeast and you'll be good to go.
 
If all you are looking for is carbonation, I don't see why not...
Obviously it still isn't going to do much until it has reached a temp at which it will become active, but as long as you don't freeze it, it shouldn't hurt it.
....I assume you will also be adding some sort of "food" for the yeast at some point too!?
I intend to add only sugar for carbonation only. Do I need something else. If yes, what ?
 
You could use this setup to make a low alcohol summer guzzler. Decant off the ‘liquid that didn’t freeze’ for *whatever* -then thaw beer and bottle as usual
 
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