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Schlenkerla

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I'm planning to server beer outside tomorrow. It's supposed to be 25F.

My kegs are cellared at 55F.

I'm planning to put temp tapes on each keg for monitoring purposes.

Two questions;

1.) How early should I move it outside?

2.) How long before it would freeze?

I've been looking for an easy web calculator for this.
 
There is no simple calculation for this. From what I've read/heard people who model fluid mechanics have advanced models for doing so but they are likely fairly advanced Monte Carlo simulations. To try to get a simplified model you would have to start with the Newton cooling equation then approximate k somehow taking into account your surface area to volume ratio. Usually k is determined empirically but you don't have time for that.

My advice would be to keep them all clustered together and try to cover them in a blanket or something similar. If you cluster them and cover then I would imagine you should be good for several hours. Maybe you could cover them in a tarp and direct a space heater on low underneath the tarp.

If you move them too early you risk freezing, if you move them late you will get some trub on the first few pours. If your event is going to be a long one I would move them as late as possible.

Do you have a spare keg? You could fill it with cold tap water and do some experimenting, just keep an eye on it so it doesn't freeze solid and potentially destroy your keg.
 
IME, @25 degrees F, you wont have to worry at all about the kegs freezing. There is lots of mass in each until they are nearly empty, and the alcohol will lower the freeze point low enough where you ought to be able to serve no problems. Move it outside at the last available moment to buy you some time. 55 might be a higher than desirable serving temperature, but it will cool as it flows through the serving line rather quickly.

If you are serving out of picnic taps, this is where things usually freeze up. I have a 5' picnic tap line to serve outdoor events and it will freeze up rather quickly, if no one pours for about 5-15 minutes dependent on ambient temp. There is so little a cross section of fluid in the tube, and the distance it needs to travel through the cold air keep serving this way rather problematic. Here's what you can do:

Get one of those neoprene sleeves that are available for hydration bladder systems and cover the hose. This will work pretty well in temps close to freezing. It will buy you time in lower temps. I've also used pipe insulation from the hardware store in a pinch but it is not as flexible and is much bulkier.

Last resort is to keep a bucket of tepid water close by and keep the hose wound up in it. This is a pain in the butt because you don't want it too warm, so you need to babysit it often, and people who are not paying attention end up tossing the whole show in the increasingly dirty water.

You may have luck with just a towel or blanket wrapped around the serving line, but honestly the best way to keep it from freezing is to SERVE. if beer is MOVING through it, it wont freeze up and everyone will have fresh cold beer. :mug:
 
Thanks.

I'm not using the jockey box for the obvious reason. I hadn't considered the picnic tap hoses being a problem. I've done this for 8 years for my son's birthday party. It's never been below freezing in the last eight years.

The house will be packed 40 + people. My wife and mother inlaw wants the drinks outside (in laws house ). They plan to put water and soda out an hour before the party.

I'm wanting to serve beer about 35-45F. I know it's a crap shoot. I might put the beer against the brick wall of the house to keep it warmer.
 
Well, no freezing issues. I had the two kegs on ice and pouring occasionally.

I had to ice them down though. My MIL kept leaving the basement cellar door open. It connects to the heated basement. So the beer was close to room temp at 10:30 morning

It was out 10:30 to 4PM. ~5-1/2 hours. @ 30F.

It was VERY VERY cold and refreshing to say the least.

Served an Oaky Oktoberfest and a Special Export.
 
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