Is my beer ruined?

[Randomnoob]

Last week, I bought this kegerator for $299 on Wal-Mart.com. I was excited to start kegging my beer instead of having to bottle it. On Tuesday morning I transferred the first batch from the fermentor to the keg and set it up to force carbonate in the fridge.

I was pretty happy with the fridge. Besides some minor work on the regulator, everything seemed good. It stayed a relatively cold temperature. So with the day off I brewed another batch this afternoon and thought when I was done I would go see if the beer in my keg would be ready to drink.

I opened my fridge and changed the psi on the regulator to 11 psi. I then tried to get some beer out of the tower. Nothing. I then took the hand held tap and put it on the keg and nothing there too.

I double checked the co2 regulator and I tried to get beer out once again. Still nothing. At this point, I pulled the keg out of the fridge, turned off the co2, vented the gas and opened the keg. It was frozen solid.

I don't even know what else to do at this point. The fridge has no temperature control on the outside or inside. So apparently I bought a freezer....

Did that just ruin a whole batch of beer? If I let it thaw out, what should I set the co2 at? Is this normal?

 

[duboman]

Just let the beer thaw out and it will be fine as well as crystal clear

You din't buy a freezer but the unit obviously gets cold enough the freeze! Adjust the temperature knob, place a glass of water with a thermometer in it and keep adjusting the temp until you get it operating at the serving temp you like. Once there, go ahead and put things back together and make a note of the setting..

You will still need to carbonate the beer once thawed. You may also need longer lines depending on temp and serving pressure desired. I use 10' lines for 38-40 degrees and 12 psi.

Good luck!

 

[Randomnoob]

Cheap piece of Walmart junk does not have a temperature knob.

 

[duboman]

Cheap piece of Walmart junk does not have a temperature knob.

Somewhere on the unit there should be a thermostat that you can adjust, even some of the reviews on the link stated there is one to adjust, All refrigeration units and freezers have a thermostat.

 

[Randomnoob]

Right you are. It's in the back, right hand corner if you know what you're looking for. It was set to max. I set it halfway and put a thermometer in there. Sorry if I seem a little frustrated with this whole thing. I already had to get a different gas line and a different shut off value for the co2 regulator.

What should I set the co2 pressure at while it's thawing out?

 

[day_trippr]

I think I'd shut the gas off and disconnect it from the keg (beer line, too) until the poor thing has fully thawed.
Because the beer temperature got so low while still on gas it's likely overcarbed anyway...

Cheers!

 

[BigFloyd]

Let not your heart be troubled. Simply build yourself a temp control outlet box using an STC-1000. Plug the unit into the controller box, put the probe inside a jar of water with a small hole in the lid (so the probe will fit) and it will very precisely regulate the temp by turning the unit on and off as need. I use these to control my 3-tap keezer, fermenter chamber and lager fridge. They are most excellent.

http://www.amazon.com/All-purpose-Temperature-Controller-STC-1000-sensor/dp/B00862G3TQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382149071&sr=8-1&keywords=stc-1000


https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f170/stc-1000-setup-beginners-433985/#post5538096

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-fish-tank-controller-build-using-wal-mart-parts-261506/


https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/

 

[Cider123]

Your beer is ruined! Drop it off at my house and I will get rid of it for you, no charge

 

[neo71665]

Instructions, that extra packing so we have more trash to throw away.......