Using Dry Ice to cool beer

[colacube]

The usual problem at lemans is how to keep beer cool, or get it cool at all. Last couple of years we have taken a fridge and genny, but this is not portable.

Last year we were sitting at the porsche curves talking to a group of danish guys and they had a load of dry ice with them. Simply pop a chip of it into a drink, it will bubble away and cool the drink down pretty quick. This works with water as it wont bubble froth over like beer. The guys reconed that throwing a load of chips of dry ice into a cool box will cool the beer down.

We have been looking at cost of dry ice and it would work out about the same as the genny hire, but recon that even if it is well insulated the dry ice wont last the week end. Has anyone else tried this, or has anybody any thoughts?

[tucker20]

I have no help or advice to offer but gotta admit, that even if it doesn't work, it's gonna look pretty bloody cool every time you open the coolbox!!!

[Truckosaurus]

Just keep the window open in the car on the way down...

[ProPlus]

the easy way is to...

www.stageblaster.co.uk/smoke_machine_hire.html

look half way down....

or you could go and get a canister of liquid CO2 and get

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FROST-STICK-Com

hey presto dry ice if and when ever you need it...

enjoy.

[slinky]

I know of a PH'er that has, in the past, been known to use nitrous oxide to cool his beer, on a certain famous (hockenheim) race track main straight!!

[colacube]

or you could go and get a canister of liquid CO2 and get

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FROST-STICK-Com

hey presto dry ice if and when ever you need it...

enjoy.[/quote]


Got to admit that I hadnt thought of liquid dry ice. Will investigate.

I think this has been posted before:

www.asciimation.co.nz/beer/

complete genius, but may not be practical.

[zac510]

I had a muck around with dry ice about 6 or 7 years ago. I was interested in using it on my car for drag racing. It was so cold that it wouldn't even keep for all that long in dad's kitchen freezer. It would be brilliant for cooling beer and food but there'd be a real chance you'd freeze it completely. This stuff is more often used to keep stuff frozen than just chilled.
I later found out that you can damage the freezer by 'over freezing' it too. I think it's still going though!

[colacube]

zac510 said:

I had a muck around with dry ice about 6 or 7 years ago. I was interested in using it on my car for drag racing. It was so cold that it wouldn't even keep for all that long in dad's kitchen freezer. It would be brilliant for cooling beer and food but there'd be a real chance you'd freeze it completely. This stuff is more often used to keep stuff frozen than just chilled.
I later found out that you can damage the freezer by 'over freezing' it too. I think it's still going though!

The dry ice supplier we have been speaking to reconed that a 10kg bag of chips would only last 8 or so hours in a freezer. The danish guys we spoke to did manage it somehow though. Should really have quizzed them in greater detail though. Too excited at the time though about really cold beer.

If anyone knows where to get liquid dry ice from it would be much appreciated.

[Naughty Magpie]

My boyfriend bought some dry ice back from work once & kept it in a polystyrene box - it lasted for ages and ages (at least 24-48 hours) so maybe that's worth considering?

[zac510]

I guess it depends on the ambient temperature, but 7-8 hours is barely a third of Le Mans! Worse if you're opening it, adding more warm beer, etc.

I'm not sure where to get it in the UK but a gas supplier I think would have it. A supplier that supplies welding gases and so forth?

[ProPlus]

zac510 said:

I guess it depends on the ambient temperature, but 7-8 hours is barely a third of Le Mans! Worse if you're opening it, adding more warm beer, etc.

I'm not sure where to get it in the UK but a gas supplier I think would have it. A supplier that supplies welding gases and so forth?

get bottle here
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/11-lb-nitrous-o

refill from here
www.potn.co.uk/bottle-refills_c5214_6488_6754.htm

Get the other bit and its time to chill

[zac510]

Yeah that looks like the best way to do it!

[markcsc]

Last year we used frozen peas. Couldn't find any ice in the supermarket so each day we bought a bag of peas. Mmmmm, I can still smell it, pea flavoured beer.

This year we have a fridge!!

Mark

[rev-erend]

Sorry but I think your thinking is not grand enough for Le Mans..

What you need to do is to build a Jet to cool down your beer


Here's how :
www.asciimation.co.nz/beer/

[bob1179]

rev-erend said:

Sorry but I think your thinking is not grand enough for Le Mans..

What you need to do is to build a Jet to cool down your beer


Here's how :
www.asciimation.co.nz/beer/

Buy that man another beer!

Genius!

[20vt_mk2dub]

CO2 cooled beer.

Now thats an idea.

[GRynners]

Hehe. Had the same problem in that blistering heat in 2005. Ended up getting our ice from the local supermarket fish counter as it shut on Saturday afternoon! True, didn't smell too great, but worked a treat and even had enough to chill our 'pool'. A genius moment.

[funkyol]

This might sound a bit crazy but it works......... Put up a gazebo, Dig a big hole in the ground in the shade, put a small kiddie paddling pool in it, fill with water, put beer in, cover with a board. It works wonders!

[jim hobbs]

If you must have/use dry ice please be very careful how you store it, it can kill you.

[colacube]

jim hobbs said:

If you must have/use dry ice please be very careful how you store it, it can kill you.

can i have a bit more of a clue how to store it then? How does it kill you? Was certainly not planning on eating or even directly handling it.

current thinking is to go with liquid co2, and an ice maker attachment. just figuring out the adaptor at the moment. Cylinder will be kept out of direct sunlight, to keep any health and safety officers here happy.