It’s a fact of life — sometimes beer explodes. But have you ever wondered exactly why beer explodes when it freezes? There are several reasons why it does this, which I will cover below. Whether you leave your beer in the freezer too long, let it get too hot in the summer sun, or open a bottle after it’s been shaken extra hard, there are all kinds of reasons why a beer bottle might fizz up and burst. Frozen beer is the absolute worst for exploding. Anyone who has had a chilled beer explode in their hand knows that this is one of the most annoying beer problems in the world. The good news is there are ways to prevent this from happening. Keeping beer cold is not always an easy task, so let’s talk about what happens when you freeze beer.
I mean, ideally, I could stop forgetting that I put something in the freezer for “a few minutes.” But realistically, my attention span is not about to drastically improve anytime soon. So, how do you keep a frozen beer from exploding? The answer is really pretty simple. To keep a frozen beer from exploding, don’t freeze it.
What happens if you freeze beer?
If you freeze beer, you get a frozen beer. But what happens to the beer when it freezes? Well, just like any other carbonated beverage, it could explode. I am sure all of us have popped a can of something carbonated into the freezer to cool it down quickly, only to forget about it. I’m pretty sure that I have at least one exploded drink in the office fridge right now. While my month’s old frozen soda is unsalvageable, you might still be able to drink your frozen beer. My soda can exploded and is quite literally covering everything, and there is no getting it all back into that can. But that’s not always what happens when you freeze something carbonated. Beer is no different than any other carbonated drink.
Now, if the seal on the can breaks or the cap pops off your beer, it’s probably going to be flat. The minute that a seal gets damaged, the carbon dioxide starts to escape from the bottle. It is called “gassing off.” This happens because of the broken seal. But say you aren’t as absent-minded as I am. You remember that beer you put in the freezer a few hours ago. You rush to the fridge and throw open the door. It is frozen, but otherwise, it is okay. Put it in the refrigerator or leave it on the counter. You can still drink it. Just remember that the delicate chemical balance of your brew is likely going to be affected by the temperature changes, which means it could taste funny.
Why do beers explode in the freezer?
Why exactly does frozen beer explode? The answer is simple physics. Water expands as it freezes, and beer is mostly water. So, when you freeze a beer, the water in that beer is also going to expand. This expansion causes pressure to build up inside the can or bottle. That pressure is going to find any weak spots in the container. Once enough pressure is behind a weak spot, your container might explode. Sometimes this is a dramatic event covering your frozen chicken in that beer you were looking forward to. Other times that explosion is nothing more than a bottle cap popping off or the tab of the can cracking. With bottles, the worst-case scenario can even include having to sort through all of your frozen foods to retrieve shards of glass. I have never actually seen a bottle explode in my freezer, and I hear that it is incredibly rare for a beer bottle to shatter like that. Cans exploding, though? I’ve seen this happen all too often.
What temperature do beers explode?
Of course, you likely already know your freezer is cold enough to freeze stuff. The average home freezer is set to 0°F (-18°C), which is well below the freezing point of basically anything you might put in it. Most beers freeze at 28 °F (or -2.2 °C). Keep in mind that this is just the averaging freezing point. With beer, the freezing point can vary considerably from brew to brew. Typically beer contains alcohol, and the amount of alcohol in the beer affects the freezing point (more physics). So, what temperature causes the beer to explode? There is no set temperature. As soon as the can or bottle is frozen, it could burst. Whether it explodes at all also depends on a number of other factors.
Also, don’t forget that you don’t need a freezer for your beer to freeze and explode. A couple of winters ago, I accidentally left a six-pack in my trunk. We had a few bitterly cold days. Before I knew it, my entire car smelled like beer as most of the bottles had cracked and even started leaking before I remembered them. Not only did I have a giant mess in the trunk of my car, but I also got to spend a few days worried about being pulled over.
Will a frozen can of beer explode when it thaws?
A can of frozen beer may or may not explode when it thaws. It all depends on how the beer is sealed and how good that seal is. If you have a weak seal on your bottle, you could be at risk for that cap popping off as the pressure inside the bottles shift. On the other hand, a beer can left alone on the counter or in your refrigerator is very unlikely to explode. Of course, this is only true if the can is left alone and not opened until everything fully thaws. More than once, I have misjudged how thawed out a frozen can of beer was only to have half frozen beer come rushing out at my face. As the beer thaws, the carbonation is being released out of the ice, which adds to the amount of pressure inside the can. Breaking the seal before all of the ice has melted, or even just sloshing that icy liquid around too much, can cause everything to come exploding out of the can.
How long can beer be in the freezer before it explodes?
Many things affect how long your beer can be in the freezer. First, you have to consider the size of the container. A small can is going to freeze a lot faster than a larger sized bottle. That is simply because more liquid takes longer to freeze. Next, you need to consider the temperature of the beer. Room temperature beer freezes more quickly than hot beer that has been left in the summer sun all day. Finally, the temperature of your freezer also affects how long the beer takes to freeze. Your deep freezer is likely far colder than the kitchen freezer. All of these things affect how long before your beer can might explode.
All in all, I have found that 30 minutes is the longest you want to leave your beer in the freezer. Any longer, and it’s going to start to freeze. It takes a typical freezer about 90 minutes to completely freeze a can of liquid. Once that can of beer is mostly frozen, it can explode at any time. That beer that you threw in there an hour ago might not be frozen solid, but it could still explode in your face when you open it.
What happens if you leave a can of beer in the freezer?
If you leave a can of beer in the freezer, it is going to freeze. I mean, anything is going to freeze if you leave it in the freezer long enough, right? Eventually, that frozen can of beer may explode, make a huge mess, and leave you with ruined beer. Even if it never explodes, it will be frozen. Of course, most of us aren’t intentionally freezing our beer for a rainy day, just trying to get it cold enough to enjoy.
Related Questions
1. Can you drink beer after it’s been frozen?
You can still drink the frozen beer after you thaw it out. Of course, depending on the circumstances, you might not want to drink it.
There are a couple of things that can happen to your beer after it thaws back out. If the container stayed completely intact (no missing caps or cracked open seals), then your beer could be perfectly fine. You may not even be able to tell that it had been frozen at all. Typically, the carbonation settles back into the liquid good as new once that liquid has completely thawed out. However, you might notice some slight changes in the flavor. I have found this to be more likely with craft beers or homebrews, but it can happen with any style of beer.
If you find that your container did pop open, you should expect the beer to be flat since most of the carbonation will gas out even before the liquid thaws back out. If you are missing a bottle cap, or the top of the can is slightly cracked, the beer should be perfectly okay to drink once it thaws. Just keep in mind that liquid might come exploding out of the top at any time while it is still thawing. Now, if you find a mangled can or a shattered bottle, you don’t want to try to drink what is left behind. I’m not so sure that the glass or metal shards that could easily be in the beer are going to enhance the flavor.
2. Is a frozen beer can dangerous?
Your frozen beer could be dangerous if the container is damaged or if the seal has been weakened. Damaged cans or cracked containers can easily cut you. Also, remember that weaknesses in the seal might not be immediately obvious. If the pressure breaks through the seal while you are holding the beer, you might find your beer can has turned into a projectile (or you could just get sprayed in the face).
3. Does beer get colder faster in the freezer?
Yes, beer (or any other liquid) gets colder faster in the freezer. Why? Because of physics. Now I will not bore you with the math that explains the physics of why your freezer can cool things off faster than the fridge or even the ice-filled cooler on the back porch. Simply put, science tells us that the bigger the temperature difference, the faster heat transfers from warm to cold. This means that the lower temperature inside your freezer cools most things more quickly and more efficiently.
4. Does freezing beer make it stronger?
In general, freezing beer does not make the alcohol any stronger. The alcohol content of the beer doesn’t change when the beer is frozen. However, you can intentionally make your beer stronger by freezing it. Just remove the ice that forms on partially frozen beer. The frozen pieces are the water that tends to separate out from the alcohol during the freezing process. When you take out this water, you are left with less diluted alcohol. We call this the Eisbock style. I’ve never actually done this, but no doubt some of you have stumbled on this accidentally and already tried it out. If you are reading this thinking, “Wow, I can’t wait to do this,” be careful. I hear that doing this might be illegal in some places.
Conclusion
The absolute easiest way to keep your beer from exploding in the freezer is to skip putting it in the freezer. Most of us learn this lesson the hard way after we’ve had a spouse or a roommate get sick of seeing a mess happening over and over (or maybe that’s just me). My advice? Just buy a dedicated beer fridge. There’s tons of options on the market so there’s really no excuse to keep abusing your brews by using the freezer. Keep it stocked with all of your favorites. That way, you will never have to choose between hot or potentially exploded beer ever again.