There’s nothing quite like the taste of a cold beer on a hot day. But what about when it’s not so hot outside? How long does it take for a beer bottle to get cold on ice? And is there anything you can do to speed up the process? Keep reading to find out if the following methods can help you get your beer colder faster.
Cooling drinks are a convenient way to beat the summer heat. Cooler temperatures can be achieved by either covering them with ice or putting the item in cold water and letting it cool naturally, but what if you don’t have time to spare? There are plenty of ways that will only take minutes before they’re ready for consumption again..
The best way to cool down a lot of beers in under five minutes is with an ice-filled cooler or big bowl. Fill it up, add some salt, this lowers the freezing point of water and then water – that’ll lower the freezing point enough for you. The lower temperature of the water assists with the heat transfer from your bottle of beer to get it transformed into a cool beer as quick as possible.
Aluminium cans transfer heat better than glass bottles so those work best when trying to get your favourite beer to that perfect ice cold temperature.
How long does it take for room temperature beer to freeze?
Chill your beer in less time by wrapping it with a damp cloth or wet paper towel, then placing it into the freezer. As water evaporates off of these items and they become colder than average room temperature, their ability to absorb heat will be reduced which helps cool down faster!
You should chill your beer for about 15 minutes before drinking.
Does Freezing Beer remove the alcohol?
Freezing beer doesn’t remove the alcohol in a beverage so freezing beer doesn’t remove the alcohol in your favourite brew. The temperature beer freezes is 27F or or- 2.8C. This is based on a standard ABV of 5%
Chilling Beer in a Fridge
If you have a long time to plan your next party or catch up with friends, then chilling your beer cans in a fridge is the simplest option. I’ve found the best chill time is around 9 hours. This may be a long chilling process but it sure is worth it.
Big Word of Warning
Now you may have done this before. In my younger days on a hot summer day I may have had one or two unplanned social gatherings. You have your favourite craft beers at your home but you hadn’t got them all chilled before your friends came round to see you. They have brought their cans of beer and you know that yours are not at the optimal temperature to drink.
A bucket of ice is quickly made up and you put you fill it full of beer but you still have your favourite six-pack of beer which isn’t at the right temperature. The thought hits you- I’ll put my beer in the freezer. This must be one of the faster ways to chill beer! You get distracted talking with your friends and having fun. You remember your beers in the freezer and realise it’s been way too long. You open the freezer door and realise that your bottles of beer have expanded and exploded everywhere! You now have freezer beer to clean up as well as assessing the freezer doors for damage.
That initial good idea only works if you keep track of time and is probably the fastest way to get that quick chill for your beer.. Don’t exceed 20 minutes if you choose this method.
Use Nature to reduce the temperature of the beer
I recall utilising the wonders of nature on a couple of occasions to ensure that I could drink cold beer. It’s winter, you are having a house party and the fridge is full of drinks. Why not just put your beers outside if it is a cold night and let the low night air cool your bottles before restocking the fridge.
On another occasion while camping near a river, my friends and I hit upon an obvious solution to keep our beers cold. Using natures pure water to keep our beer chilled through the temperature drop that the stream provided was a very simple yet rewarding pleasure after a days hiking.
Bottom Line
Iced water is my favourite method to change lukewarm beer into ice-cold beer. Beer lovers need to enjoy that crisp cool taste and pulling out a brew from your case of beer submerged in ice is a joy on a warm afternoon. The chill that the salty ice water brings to my can of beer is a sensation I will always love and the temperature difference it brings makes the extra effort all worthwhile. Then, at the end of a long day, when you search for that last beer for a couple of minutes, you grab it. Happy days!
