So you’ve come here to learn how long to chill beer in your fridge. Beer or any other canned beverage will typically take eight hours to get cold in the cooler. Do you want it chilled faster? The simple answer seems to be a freezer.
Imagine a long, sweltering summer day. You’re worn out and sweating buckets. There’s only one thing that can make this situation instantly better: a nice, cold beer.
You rush to the fridge and realize that there isn’t a single cold beer in the house. You forgot to chuck some bottles or cans in the fridge yesterday!
Nothing could be worse, I know. You can’t just add a few ice cubes to a beer to chill it down in the glass as you can with a cocktail. Watered-down beer just isn’t worth it.
Here’s how long it takes to chill a beer and the quickest way to do it so you can start drinking it right away. Beer cooling time is influenced by a number of factors, including:
- The size of the beer can or bottle
- The alcohol content of the beer
- The sugar content of the beer
- The average temp of the fridge
- The current temp of the beer
- The specific type of beer you’re trying to chill
Be careful not to cool beer below the recommended temperature. Typically, beer should be served between 40 and 43 degrees.
For Those Who Can Think Ahead
Chuck your room temperature beer bottles or beer cans immediately into the refrigerator if you’re fortunate enough to have planned ahead.
You’ll have to wait 7-8 hours before you can enjoy perfectly chilled beer.
By then, the beer will cool from room temperature (about 70 degrees) to drinking temperature (around 40-45 degrees).
Of course, this isn’t the solution for someone who needs chilled beer right now or in the next hour because this takes so long.
So, as you experiment with beer chilling, you’d better store some more in the fridge for tomorrow just in case.
Using A Freezer
The amount of alcohol in the beer and the freezer’s temperature both affect how long it takes for a beer to cool down.
The typical temperature for a standard household freezer is zero degrees Fahrenheit. It takes roughly 40 minutes for a single bottle or can of beer at room temperature (approximately 70 degrees) to reach drinking temperature (about 40–45 degrees).
Hey, that’s just enough time to prepare a meal to go with your beer! Do you want it faster? Try wrapping the beer in a damp cloth or paper towel.
The beer cools more quickly as the heat is taken away from it because the water on the cloth or towel is evaporating.
The Risk of Using A Freezer
Take caution! Of course, beer will begin to freeze if you keep it in the freezer for an extended period.
Water freezes at 32 degrees, and beer is primarily made of water. A typical beer with 5% alcohol by volume freezes at roughly 27 degrees.
However, the exact freezing point of beer varies on the residual sugars in the drink and the alcohol content. Some beers, particularly those with greater alcohol content, may freeze at lower temperatures.
Even alcoholic beverages run the risk of freezing at lower temperatures than 27 degrees.
It could be a good idea to place the glass bottles or cans in plastic bags before freezing them if you want to be extra cautious.
Will My Beer Explode In The Freezer?
Beer can burst when it freezes because it expands like water. If you’re chilling a glass bottle, this can be pretty messy and even hazardous.
When putting a beer in the freezer, be sure to set a timer to prevent it from freezing and bursting.
A few factors affect the specific freezing point of alcoholic beverages. If you leave beer out for longer than 40 to 60 minutes, you run the risk of ice crystals and, ultimately, a nasty eruption of frozen beer.
This issue should be avoided because no one wants to clean a sticky, shard fest. Plus, beer is affected by the freeze-thaw cycle even if the cans or bottles miraculously avoid bursting.
So, What’s The Absolute Fastest Way To Chill Beer?
Here is the quickest method for bringing a beer can or bottle to the ideal temperature. Simply combine a lot of salt, cold water, and ice in a large basin or bucket before adding the bottles or cans and stirring.
Don’t get stingy on the salt. I’m talking about a cup or a few cups of salt, depending on how many beers you’re trying to cool down.
Additionally, how much ice you use is crucial. You’re not going to need tons of ice, but you’ll want enough to pack in as much as you can in the container.
The water around the cans or bottles should get colder than 32 degrees since salt lowers the freezing point of water. This principle increases the heat dissipation from the bottles.
With this method, your beer can reach the ideal drinking temperature in around 7-15 minutes!
Why Take The Extra Step To Chill Beer
Beer is typically served cold in the USA, much to the delight of certain brewers.
Some beers last longer when they are chilled. A beverage created with live components has the potential to “get funky.”
In essence, if you leave your beer warm for too long, it will lose its punch.
Brewers make elaborate beers with the idea that they are consumed at a particular temperature. This explains why some warm beers can be totally overpowering in every way.
Depending on the beer, you’re probably better off leaving it refrigerated for a while.
Why Cold Beer Is So Good
When you bring home any fizzy beverage from the store, be it beer, soda, or seltzer water, your instinct is to put them in the fridge. Why have we been conditioned to enjoy these drinks cold?
Well, it all boils down to carbonation. Most folks can probably agree that a carbonated drink tastes better than a flat drink. Carbonation is made possible by the presence of CO2 in beverages. Your beverage’s carbonation will improve further if you keep it in the fridge.
The longer we can keep our drinks cooler, the more we can enjoy the carbonation. This is why we sometimes put ice in our sodas.
Of course, we don’t do that with beer because alcohol and ice aren’t a good mix.
Related Reading: German Beer vs American Beer: Which One Reigns Supreme? – Check Them out Here
Final Thoughts
It’ll take a few hours to get beer to the right temperature, but there are ways to hasten the process.
However, I’m not a big fan of the freezer method. One, there’s a possibility you’ll overlook at least one beer, causing it to explode or spoil before you realize it. Additionally, a full freezer uses more energy, which is terrible for the environment.
The best way is to think ahead and put some in the fridge. You’ll thank yourself later.