Why did this beer not freeze?

I put some tea and a bottle of beer in a freezer and let them sit. I grabbed the tea and noticed some ice crystals. I then grabbed the bottle of beer, popped the top, poured it, and took a temperature reading: -1.1 degrees Celsius...

I stared at the beer expecting it to ice over, but there was no ice, not even a small crystal...

So, I'm thinking:

  1. My thermometer might be off.
  2. The altitude where I am, about 1,300 ft., might have some effect on the freezing point.
  3. The beer I poured might have properties requiring a lower freezing point than that of water.
  4. Or a combination of the above.

So, are there any smart people out there who can comment?

Does pure water require a specific humidity/altitude/other effects to freeze at 0 degrees Celsius? Since beer has other "stuff" in it, compared to water, does that lower the freezing point of beer?

Cheers, Virginia

Reply to
papervirginia
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AFAIK, altitude doesn't affect freezing. The reason it effects boiling temp is because the reduced atmospheric pressure at altitude creates less pressure against the surface of the water, so boiling occurs earlier thanks to less surface tension. There's no escape mechanism going on with freezing; just a slowing of molecules.

Really, none of the above. Alcohol has a lower freezing point than water (ethanol freezes at about -115 C). Beer has alcohol. While it's predominantely water, there's enough alcohol in solution to lower the overall freezing point.

-Steve

Reply to
Steve Jackson

Like usual, google is your friend. Lots of interesting links here that suggest the freezing point of beer is somewhat below -4C but it obviously depends upon the alcohol content of the brew;

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Reply to
Doug Brown

What, never seen a phase diagram?

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That said, at reasonable atmospheric pressures, freezing temperature is barely changed for water (and since solid water is less dense than liquid water, an odd solid-liquid boundary as pressure increases).

Witzel

Reply to
Dave Witzel

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