How to Cool Beers Without a Fridge
Cool beers with cold water., Give the beer a cold "bath"., Add table salt to the ice., Run the faucet., Submerge the beers in a body of water., Stick your beers in the snow.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Cool beers with cold water.
This is one of the fastest ways to lower the temperature of a beverage, and you can do it indoors or outdoors.
Completely submerge the surface of your beer container in cold water; the colder, the better.
If the water is icy, you should be able to sufficiently cool a beer from room temperature to "party cold" within five minutes.
The process might take somewhat longer if you're outdoors, or if the water is warmer.
If you're indoors:
Dunk the beers in a bucket of ice water, or run them under a cold tap for a few minutes.
If you're outdoors:
Submerge the beers in a natural water source – a river, a spring, a lake, or an ocean.
Make sure to secure the beers so that they don't sink or drift away. -
Step 2: Give the beer a cold "bath".
Fill a bucket, a bathtub, a cooler, or any large, watertight container with the coldest water that you can find.
Supplement with ice, if possible.
After you're done, try re-purposing the water: water your lawn, or your garden, or fill a pet's water bowl.
Place your drinks in the ice water solution and rapidly stir them all around for 2-5 minutes.
By stirring, you're using forced convection to speed the transfer of heat out of your drink and into the ice water solution.
Add as much ice to the water as you can, but not so much that it prevents the entire beverage container from being submerged into the water.
A 50/50 mix of ice and water is a good rule of thumb.
The thicker and better-insulated the container, the better.
Seal the container off from the air to retain even more of the chill.
This way, the ice will melt more slowly. , A small handful should do the trick.
Salt lowers the freezing temperature of the water – which means that the water can get colder than the normal freezing temperature (32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius) without turning into ice. , If you have access to a sink, you can cool beers quickly.
Hold the beer under the faucet and run a steady stream of cold water over the container.
You should be able to cool a beer within five minutes.
Save the runoff water in a bucket so that you can re-purpose it.
If you don't have a sink, you can use a shower, a bath spigot, or any other water source.
Don't waste water.
Save the runoff water in a bucket, then using it to wash dishes or water plants.
Running the tap for five minutes just to cool beer is incredibly wasteful. , Find a cold and accessible body of water: a river, a lake, a spring, a sea.
Rig up a system to keep the beers from sinking or drifting.
Tie the beers into a net or bag; string them together with rope; push them into the sand at the bottom; wedge them between roots, rocks, or kelp.
If you cool your beers in running water, make sure to tie them to the bank, a boat, or yourself so that they aren't swept downstream.
Don't use hot water sources, such as hot springs or geysers.
This is intuitive, but perhaps bears mention.
If there's a cold rain outside, try leaving the beers out where they'll catch the brunt of the elements.
This may not cool them as effectively as a full submersion, but it should do the trick in time. , If there's snow on the ground, simply wedge your beers into the snow and wait half an hour.
If it's cold out—say, below 40 degrees—but there is no snow, you can still put the beers outside to cool.
Try to leave them in the shade, not the direct sunlight.
If the snow is deep enough, wedge the beers beneath the surface so that they cool more quickly.
If you leave beers beneath the surface of the snow, make sure that you mark the spot so that you don't forget where you've left them.
Otherwise, you may be doomed to drink warm beers in the springtime. -
Step 3: Add table salt to the ice.
-
Step 4: Run the faucet.
-
Step 5: Submerge the beers in a body of water.
-
Step 6: Stick your beers in the snow.
Detailed Guide
This is one of the fastest ways to lower the temperature of a beverage, and you can do it indoors or outdoors.
Completely submerge the surface of your beer container in cold water; the colder, the better.
If the water is icy, you should be able to sufficiently cool a beer from room temperature to "party cold" within five minutes.
The process might take somewhat longer if you're outdoors, or if the water is warmer.
If you're indoors:
Dunk the beers in a bucket of ice water, or run them under a cold tap for a few minutes.
If you're outdoors:
Submerge the beers in a natural water source – a river, a spring, a lake, or an ocean.
Make sure to secure the beers so that they don't sink or drift away.
Fill a bucket, a bathtub, a cooler, or any large, watertight container with the coldest water that you can find.
Supplement with ice, if possible.
After you're done, try re-purposing the water: water your lawn, or your garden, or fill a pet's water bowl.
Place your drinks in the ice water solution and rapidly stir them all around for 2-5 minutes.
By stirring, you're using forced convection to speed the transfer of heat out of your drink and into the ice water solution.
Add as much ice to the water as you can, but not so much that it prevents the entire beverage container from being submerged into the water.
A 50/50 mix of ice and water is a good rule of thumb.
The thicker and better-insulated the container, the better.
Seal the container off from the air to retain even more of the chill.
This way, the ice will melt more slowly. , A small handful should do the trick.
Salt lowers the freezing temperature of the water – which means that the water can get colder than the normal freezing temperature (32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius) without turning into ice. , If you have access to a sink, you can cool beers quickly.
Hold the beer under the faucet and run a steady stream of cold water over the container.
You should be able to cool a beer within five minutes.
Save the runoff water in a bucket so that you can re-purpose it.
If you don't have a sink, you can use a shower, a bath spigot, or any other water source.
Don't waste water.
Save the runoff water in a bucket, then using it to wash dishes or water plants.
Running the tap for five minutes just to cool beer is incredibly wasteful. , Find a cold and accessible body of water: a river, a lake, a spring, a sea.
Rig up a system to keep the beers from sinking or drifting.
Tie the beers into a net or bag; string them together with rope; push them into the sand at the bottom; wedge them between roots, rocks, or kelp.
If you cool your beers in running water, make sure to tie them to the bank, a boat, or yourself so that they aren't swept downstream.
Don't use hot water sources, such as hot springs or geysers.
This is intuitive, but perhaps bears mention.
If there's a cold rain outside, try leaving the beers out where they'll catch the brunt of the elements.
This may not cool them as effectively as a full submersion, but it should do the trick in time. , If there's snow on the ground, simply wedge your beers into the snow and wait half an hour.
If it's cold out—say, below 40 degrees—but there is no snow, you can still put the beers outside to cool.
Try to leave them in the shade, not the direct sunlight.
If the snow is deep enough, wedge the beers beneath the surface so that they cool more quickly.
If you leave beers beneath the surface of the snow, make sure that you mark the spot so that you don't forget where you've left them.
Otherwise, you may be doomed to drink warm beers in the springtime.
About the Author
Robert Cook
Creates helpful guides on lifestyle to inspire and educate readers.
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