Keeping Beer Cold on a Road Trip

If that keeps your beer cool. Carry on.

 

Keeping it cold is ideal, but it isn't going to hurt the beer if it warms up for a few hours. If it's not inconvenient, I'd say keep doing what you're doing. But don't go out of your way just to keep the beer cold.

 

I use a cooler and blue ice, but some of my friends use 12v coolers/warmers, seem to work fine.
https://www.amazon.com/Interior-Coolers-Refrigerators/b?ie=UTF8&node=15735671

 

Your solution has worked just fine for me (so long as I remember to put the ice bags in the freezer over night the night before using them :-)).

I also take the additional precaution of having padding (e.g., a couple of layers of blanket) on the floor for the ice chest to sit on so as reduce the effects of vibration on the bottles.

 

A good cooler and ice work as good as anything. I have a few coolers that hold the ice for days, key is spending a few bucks on a quality unit that seals well and has a great thermal wall to keep the heat transfer out, cheers and enjoy the road.

 

I have four of those jumbo blue-ice-pack-thingies. I keep two in the cooler and two in the freezer (wherever I'm staying) and swap them out daily. It doesn't keep the beer quite as cold as I'd like for drinking, but it keeps them fine for transit from the brewery to my fridge.

The real trick is finding a cooler tall enough for swing-top growlers.

 

I buy ice at gas stations.

 

Of course there's always the option of drinking it before it gets warm but that isn't practical. I've traveled a lot around the Country making a point of picking up beers along the way and finally settled on cheap styrofoam coolers refreshed occasionally with more ice. One caution though, allow enough water to accumulate and eventually some labels will detach.

 

I've never had a problem when letter the beer come to room temp. Last year we did a New England beer tour for a week. Came home with 12 cases. All warm. We're still delicious when consumed

 

I have tended to keep beer cold in a cooler with blue ice in the trunk if it was in a cooler in the store. If not, it's always placed in the trunk anyway so that direct sun does not hit it. If I plan to stop somewhere for a while on a sunny day, I look for a shady parking spot to minimize the greenhouse effect of over-heating the interior of the car, which heat probably also gets into the trunk thru the back seats.

 

Speak for yourself.

 

If you can afford it buy a yeti cooler. Boy are they expensive though. We use them here at Melvin. They keep ice for days. We bring beer all the way from Portland and Denver sometimes leaving it overnight no problems. Had beer on the same ice for up to 3 days but that's pushing it. Good luck!
McGirt aka Head Donkey
Melvin Brewing

 

This

If you intend on drinking the beer in the next week or two, cold storage isn't a huge deal.

It becomes more important if you have beers you won't get to for a month or 3.

 

If you're using regular ice, salting it will help a lot. The salt will liquefy the ice by lowering the water's freezing point. The resulting icy cold liquid keeps your bottles and cans colder for longer. Just remember to rinse them off before drinking.

 

If cans and bottles, then as others indicate - you should be fine. Just be sure to keep bottles out of direct sunlight, and don't park anywhere in the sun for any length of time so as to keep the temperature down, and use the AC. If you are talking growlers, then I'd suggest keeping it on ice as you have been.

 

This. Those yeti coolers keep ice for two days with temps hitting the 90s and the sun shining on them.

 

I use an Ozark Trail (Wal-Mart brand) 32 pack tote cooler with two five pound arctic ice panels. For $50 it's nearly identical the Yeti Shophopper for about 1/5th the price. Waterproof, keeps ice for 48 hours, keeps your cans and growlers cool for almost any roadtrip.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Premium-Jumbo-Tote-Cooler/52620406

https://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Ice-C...61933&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=artic+ice+packs

 

This will soon become a major issue for me, as in May I am (by choice) moving into my car and dirt-bagging around Colorado. Unfortunately aging beer will not be an option, as I'll have to drink everything within a few days of purchase.