Would you like to cool beers but don't have a fridge? Which method you choose depends on where you are (whether indoors or outdoors) and what you have available. In general, know that you have three simple solutions: you can cool the beer with water, ice or snow, you can take advantage of evaporative cooling, or you can bury the bottle in wet and cold soil to prevent it from heating up in a hot day.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Use Water, Ice and Snow
Step 1. Chill the beers with cold water
This is one of the quickest ways to lower the temperature of any beverage, both indoors and outdoors. Completely immerse the container in cold water; the lower the temperature, the better. If the water is partially frozen, it only takes five minutes to turn a hot beer into a pleasant "party" drink. If you are outdoors or it is really hot, it will take a little longer.
- If you are at home, dip the beers in a bucket full of water or let the cold water from the tap run over the bottles for a few minutes.
- If you are outdoors, dip your beers in a natural body of water such as a river, a spring or even the sea. Remember to attach the cans to something solid to prevent them from sinking or being carried by the current.
Step 2. Give the bottles or cans a "cold bath"
Fill a bucket, tub, cooler, or any large, waterproof container with the coldest water you can find. If possible, add some ice too. At the end of this operation, recycle the water to water the garden, lawn or to fill your pet's bowl. Put the drinks in the ice water and move them for two to five minutes. The movement generates a heat_power_exchanged_between_a_solid_wall_of_border_and_the_fluid forced convection that accelerates the release of heat from the beer to the ice water.
- If you can, add as much ice as possible, but not so much that you can't completely submerge the cans or bottles. As a general rule, prepare a bath with equal parts water and ice.
- The thicker and more well insulated the walls of the container are, the better the cooling effect will be. Close it to prevent it from coming into contact with water and to prevent it from absorbing heat. By doing this, the ice will melt more slowly.
Step 3. Add some table salt to the ice
A handful of salt should suffice. Salt is able to lower the freezing point of water; this means that the water can drop below 0 ° C without turning into ice.
Step 4. Open the cold water tap
If you have the option of using a sink, then the beers will cool down quickly. Hold the bottle under the tap and open it for a steady stream of cold water. This way your beer will be fresh in five minutes. Store the water in a bucket for reuse.
- If you don't have a sink, you can use the shower, tub faucet, or other source of water.
- Do not waste water. Collect everything you slide into a bucket and use it to wash the dishes or water the plants. Leaving the tap on for five minutes to cool a beer is a huge waste of this precious resource.
Step 5. Immerse the cans or bottles in a body of water
Find a natural, accessible water source, such as a lake, river, spring, or even the sea. Have a system to prevent beers from sinking or drifting. Put all the bottles in a net or bag, tie them all together with a string, push them into the sand on the bottom or wedge them between some roots, stones or aquatic plants. If it's a stream, tie the beers to the shore, the boat, or even your body so they don't get carried away by the current.
- Avoid sources of hot water, such as geysers or hot springs; although it may seem obvious, it is always best to be clear.
- If it's raining and cold, you can leave the beers outside so they are exposed to the elements. This method isn't as effective as full immersion in cold water, but it should still work.
Step 6. Slip the bottles into the snow
If there is snow on the ground, just put it under the surface and wait half an hour. If it is cold, for example 4 ° C, and there is no snow, then you can also just leave the bottles outside to cool them. Be careful and place them in the shade, not in direct sunlight. In case the snow is deep enough, you can completely bury the bottles in it to cool them down faster.
If you have decided to bury them in the snow, remember to mark the place somehow so you can't forget where you put them. Otherwise you will be condemned to drink hot beer during the summer
Method 2 of 3: Evaporative Cooling
Step 1. Try cooling the beers by evaporation
In summary, you have to put the beers in an earthenware jar inserted in turn in another larger jar; between the two there must be an insulating layer composed of sand. In the end, you need to cover the vase with a cold, damp cloth; as the water evaporates, the internal temperature of the container drops. After about an hour or two, you can put the beers in this artisanal "refrigerator" and let them cool. You can use this technique even on hot days, because the internal temperature of the pot can be even 4 ° C lower than the external one!
You can also use a smaller scale system to take advantage of evaporative cooling. Wet a cloth, newspaper, or toilet paper in cold water that you will use to wrap the beer bottles. As the water evaporates, the beers will slowly become cold
Step 2. Get two clay pots
The first should be large enough to hold 2-5 bottles of beer, while the second must be able to accommodate the first jar leaving at least 1.5 cm of space around the entire circumference. Close the hole in the bottom of each jar with clay, putty or a cork - any material that prevents sand from escaping from the containers is fine.
Know that the method works even if you only have plastic or other pots, but remember that clay is a better thermal insulator, so a "clay artisan refrigerator" is by far the most effective
Step 3. Isolate the system with sand
You can use any sand, even if the very fine river sand insulates better than the less dense one with large grains. Put about 2.5 cm of sand on the bottom of the larger pot and then add the smaller pot. At this point, fill the gap between the two vases with sand, compacting it well. There is no problem if some sand falls to the bottom of the small pot.
Step 4. Wet the sand
Carefully pour very cold water into the gap between the two vases, around the entire circumference. Wait for the sand to absorb it completely and prevent liquid from forming on the surface. The sand must be well moist but not muddy.
Step 5. Put the beers in the craft refrigerator
When the temperature inside the jars has dropped to around 10 ° C, then you can start cooling the beers. It will take a few hours if the day is hot or a few minutes if the weather is cold. Check the beers every hour or so, but not too often.
Step 6. Put a wet cloth as a lid
Carefully soak a cloth in cold water and then wring it out to prevent it from dripping. Wrap the cloth tightly around the edges of the two pots, making sure the openings are completely covered. Now your "clay refrigerator" is complete. As the water evaporates from the sand and cloth, the internal temperature of the container drops. Leave your contraption undisturbed for a few hours before adding the beers. When they are cold, they are ready to drink!
- If you need to cool your sodas quickly, then you can put them in jars right away. However, keep in mind that the internal temperature of the container will drop faster without the bottles taking up space and that the cooling process is not immediate.
- Wet the cloth with ice water as often as necessary; as long as this is wet, the cooling process is ensured. When you remove the cloth, do not leave the "refrigerator open" for too long, otherwise cold air will escape.
- You can also leave a thermometer in the jar. In this mod, or you can understand if the device works and you will know when to put the beers in it.
Method 3 of 3: Bury the Beers
Step 1. Consider burying the bottles in wet, cold soil
This technique is not as fast as the ones described so far, but it allows you to keep drinks cool for a long time. This is a perfect method if the day is hot and sunny and you need to preserve the temperature of the beer after taking it out of another cold place; it is worth using a large container that can protect cans or bottles from dirt.
Step 2. Find an area with damp, cold soil
Look for a shaded, not sunny area. Try burying drinks along the shore of a river, lake, or sea, but take tides into consideration. The wetter the ground, the better it will be.
You can also pour water on the soil to keep it moist. This technique is useful if there is no natural waterway nearby and you have extra water
Step 3. Bury the beers
Dig a hole large enough for the container so that the edge or cap of the container is flush with the surface of the soil. in general, remember that the deeper the hole, the lower the temperature. Leave the lid or top of the can exposed to prevent it from getting dirty with the soil, but if you have decided to completely bury your beers, don't forget where you put them!
Advice
You can also put the bottle in a folded paper towel or other material that can be soaked and wrapped around the drink container. Add salt to half of the napkin, fold the napkin to keep the salt out and wrap it around the bottle to cool it down
Warnings
- After a walk or hike in the fresh air, take out all your trash. Do not leave bottles or cans, lids or plastic containers lying around, as there is a risk that wildlife can ingest them.
- Salt in high concentrations can kill plants, while in small doses it is potentially able to alter the pH of the soil thus modifying the type of vegetation that can grow in that area. Remember that plantless soil, in areas with heavy rain or moving water (on a steep slope or on the bank of an overflowing river, for example), may fail. For these reasons you should always dispose of salt responsibly.
