I have a Keezer that contained 3 kegs (1/4 of Yuengling Lager, 1/4 of Yuengling IPL, and 1/6 of Michelobe Ultra). Yesterday afternoon, I went to pour a pitcher of the IPL and got nothing but foam. I lifted the lid and to my surprise the Keezer had stopped cooling. The kegs were completely warm. I removed the kegs and set them outside. I live in WV and our temps are currently around 30-40 degrees (its going to get much colder this week). I'm not sure when the Keezer stopped working; my guess is about a week or so. My question is are the kegs spoiled? The Yuengling kegs were about half empty. The Ultra is almost gone. I appreciate any feedback. I'm not sure how long it will take to get the Keezer functional again. Don't want to hold onto the kegs and worry about how to keep them at the proper temperature if they are bad.
None of the kegs in your keezer are pasteurized and all are lagers. Ultimately the final answer depends on several variables. 1.) How high did the temperature get? 2.) How long was the elevated temperature applied to the beer. Unpasteurized lagers can be surprisingly resilient, especially the Ultra, which is filtered to the nth degree. The real danger is when temps soar above the 55° mark as this can trigger the remaining yeast to go into secondary fermentation. Following this undesirable condition is Autolysis. Autolysis is break-up of yeast cell “on their own”. Deficiency of nutrients, high temperature and alkaline condition enhance autolysis. When a yeast cell dies, it ruptures – releasing several off-flavors into the beer. Once your kegs have cooled outside, hook them up and perform the ultimate test... ...taste them. (And please let us know what you find!)
I agree. No point worrying about what might have happened. It is what it is. Wait until things get fixed, and see what you have. You'd be surprised at how many people toss what may be perfectly good beer without even tasting it because something happened to their equipment, they skipped a step while brewing, or any number of things that may or may not render the beer undrinkable. If the beer's spoiled, there's nothing to be gained by worrying about it. But make sure it's actually bad before deciding how to dispose of it.
Thanks for the help guys. The thermometer inside the Keezer is reading about 60-62 degrees. I don't have a timeframe, but, I'm guessing maybe a week. I moved the kegs into my garage as temps are supposed to dip into the single digits in a couple of days. I have someone coming tomorrow to diagnose the problem. I'm afraid the compressor went. The freezer is about 27 years old. It went unused for about 3 years before we converted it into a Keezer. It was working just fine up until this happened. Hoping it is a relay or something simple. Thanks again.
Yes, I will definitely post an update after I get them hooked back up. They are plenty cold now in the garage. Might have to cover them with a blanket in a couple of days.
UPDATE: The Keezer has passed on to appliance heaven. The unit was 26+ years old and the technician said it was definitely the compressor. Its not worth a repair, so, the search will begin for something else. Now on to the most important thing, did my beer survive the increase in temperature. The Yuengling lager is fine. It looks, smells, and tastes normal. Same for the Yuengling IPL. There is not enough of the Ultra left to worry about it. I'm sure it is fine too. My best guess is that the freezer stopped working 7 to 10 days before I noticed. Its hard to say how many days the beer was warm. I'm guessing it would have taken 2 - 3 days for the freezer to warm up. My thermometer was reading ~62 degrees when I discovered it had stopped working. The beer has been in my garage ever since. The outside temperatures have been in the mid-20's lately during the day and single digits at night. The garage is a few degrees warmer than outside. I figure I have about a week to get a new beer fridge. Temps next weekend are supposed to be up around 50. I'd like to get a freezerless fridge this time. Or a fridge with a freezer on top. This way I won't have to build another collar and could eliminate the external temperature regulator. I wouldn't have to lift the kegs very high either. My problem is going to be finding one that is wide and deep enough to hold 3 kegs (2 quarter kegs and 1 1/6 keg). Any ideas?
The t-stat in most all refrigerators don't have the narrow differential we require for beer. You can try it, but they usually swing on and off over a wider range than we like to see for beer. Even though it's air temp and not liquid it can be enough to really screw with the beer in the line. Hold on your temp controller, it's still good. Sorry about the freezer. You can cut out card board bases in the same diameter as the kegs you want to store. Then bring them with you to the appliance store. Inside appliance dimensions are hard to come by, so there is a lot of guessing. I can tell you for certain 2 quarters and a sixth wont fit in a 5 cubic foot freezer. The quarters are much wider than most realize. Good luck. Cheers.
