Nothing is more frustrating than waiting for a room temperature beer to get cold. It’s time you could be spending entertaining, relaxing, or enjoying a nice cold beer after a long day.
Here are five ways you can get beer cold fast:
- Put the beer in the freezer.
- Add salt to your ice.
- Wrap cans in wet paper towels.
- Use a cooling machine.
- Immerse the cans in dry ice.
These ways are practically foolproof and, with the exception of the cooling machine and dry ice, pretty easy to achieve! Keep reading to find out more about how to chill your beer in record time!
BEER DROP: Boxes of beer from Award-winning microbreweries → Join The Club
1. Put the Beer in the Freezer
Putting an unopened beer in the freezer with no other modifications is the first option on our list. It is a classic method that most people have probably seen in action and one of the more consistent methods to cool warm beer rapidly.
Since alcohol has a lower freezing temperature than water, it can stay in the freezer for longer than water without freezing too fast. This is perfect for moments when you need to get an alcoholic drink cold fast.
However, if you choose this method, you need to be ready to pull the beer out quickly. If the beer spends too much time in the freezer, it could start to expand and make the frozen beer can or beer bottle explode.
To prevent this, set a timer for about twenty minutes. Twenty minutes in the freezer is the perfect amount of time for the beer to get nice and cold without exploding. Once the timer goes off, remove the beer and enjoy!
2. Cover Your Beer in Ice, Then Add Salt
If you’re away from a freezer but you have ice, like in an ice chest, you can put your beers in the ice then add salt.
Salt lowers the freezing point of the ice, making it melt quickly and releasing cold ice water. The combination of ice and cold water will get your beer cold extra fast.
This is precisely how an ice cream maker can produce ice cream so quickly. You can use this same method to get your beer colder faster. With an ice bath like this, your beers could be cold in as little as five minutes!
A drawback to this method is that you will have to replace the ice more frequently than just using ice alone as it will make the ice melt very quickly.
It would be best if you used a large grain of salt. Ice cream salt (rock salt) is the best (don’t use table salt). The larger the grain of salt, the more surface area will be touching the ice, causing it to melt.
Tip: If you don’t have salt, just add water to the ice directly. The water will get ice cold fast and transfer the cold to your beer. Also, try gently spinning the beer every few minutes to speed up the process even more.
3. Wrap Beer Cans in Wet Paper Towels
Sometimes, all you need to get beer cool enough to enjoy properly is to wrap the container in a wet paper towel (you can also use a damp cloth.)
You can then put the wet towel-wrapped can into a cold space. The water in the towel will make it cool down even faster as the water drops in temperature.
Ideally, you should put it in the freezer. Since the paper towel is flush to the can or glass bottle, it will freeze solid and drop the temperature very quickly.
You should be careful if you want to use this method in a freezer. Freezing the paper towel solid can cause issues if you want to remove it. Not only that, but you run the risk of explosions in the freezer, as we covered above.
If you are concerned about safety, space, and other issues with freezing alcohol, a cooling machine might be the best choice for you. Let’s check that out now.
4. Use a Cooling Machine to Get Cold Beer Fast
Cooling machines, also known as auto-coolers, take all of the hard work out of getting cans and bottles cold. These machines are perfect if you don’t want or can’t have a larger cooler but need a beverage to get cold, fast.
Some of these coolers are designed for only cans, whereas some can handle glass beer bottles and may even be large enough for bottles of wine! They make cooling drinks a breeze.
One of the best coolers on the market is the No products found. on Amazon. Not only will this device cool wine bottles, but it can also hold up to six cans of beer and will cool them in less than a minute.
The Cooper Cooler can heat things up too. The device works by rotating the cans or bottles while spraying ice water on them. If you want to heat something up, you would instead put hot water in the device.
Coolers are great appliances to have on hand, especially if you are a frequent entertainer. If you have guests coming over and little time to prepare, all you have to do is put the bottle in the cooler and press a button. Then, voila! In only a few moments, you have a perfectly chilled beer.
5. Immerse the Cans in Dry Ice
Dry ice is another way you can cool beer fast. While less safe than some other methods on this list, it is still effective and will get your beer cold fast. You will need a cooler and a barrier, like cardboard, to make this truly effective.
Dry ice is sold at many grocery stores, but you should check your state laws about who can buy it. Some establishments require you to be 18 years old or even 21 to purchase dry ice, so make sure to bring your ID.
Once you’ve purchased your dry ice, you need to place it in a container. You must wear appropriate gloves while handling the dry ice. Because of how cold it is, dry ice will burn human skin that comes into contact with it.
Put a layer of cardboard or another barrier over it as soon as the ice is safely into a cooler or other closed space. Once that is secured, you can set the beer in. Don’t add too many beers; this will slow the process down significantly.
Wrap Up
Each of these methods will quickly get a beer (or beers) cold. However, I recommend using the ice and salt (or water) method as it’s safe, fast, and works every time. You’ll be drinking an ice-cold beer within about ten minutes.