Some days writing about beer from the eastern end of Lake Ontario (Canadian side) seems like a really dumb thing to do. There is very little craft beer culture in my area, this has got to be the biggest community east of the Mississippi without a brewery within an hour's drive and, frankly, it is just hard to get my hands on the beers I need to get my mind thinking about beer. So, I place special orders, I travel and trade with other travelers and I also hit brewers and importers up for samples.
Usually this works out fine. Once in a while a shipment fails from something like bad capping but can be rescued. Once in a while a bottle breaks even with the best efforts of the fine folk who do the packing. 
So far, I have to say BrewDog does most creative job with a clever combination of cardboard separators and bubble wrap though the bottles that arrive in their own custom-shaped packing foam seem particularly privileged.
But there are days things don't work out so well and it has nothing to do with the packing. Today, half a package from Alley Kat of Edmonton arrived frozen. Oddly, just half of them. We've had a bit of a surprise cold snap and this box must have been left too close to the unloading door. From the outside I thought that there might have been a broken bottle but, once I worked through the layers of sealing I found they were all intact if, err, some were a little too solid. But the mead, the mild and the pale ale made it so I will have a chance to try the range even with the evil frosty hand of fate's best effort.
Soon it will be spring. Soon the samples will not freeze. So, if you have any to share, let me know at beerblog@gmail.com.
Comments
Alan - March 3, 2009 4:26 PM
Having had another look at those photos, do you think the courier obeyed the "this side up" directions?
mo - March 3, 2009 5:59 PM
Don't toss the frozen bottles. Thaw them out slowly and they'll probably be fine if you drink them soon.
Alan - March 3, 2009 6:41 PM
Oops. They gone. I don't know when the freezing started. They did smell a bit skunky to me.
Knut Albert - March 3, 2009 7:08 PM
Yes, it's dangerous. My brother in law bought a lot of wine for Christmas some years ago and left the bottles in his car while he did the rest of his shopping. Lots of expensive vinegar that year.
Knut Albert - March 3, 2009 7:08 PM
But if they hadn't blackened out your adress, maybe it would have got to you in time?
Alan - March 3, 2009 7:21 PM
Damn! I knew there was something wrong with that packaging! I had a moment of concern, a recollection of bursting bottles which could be triggered by the change in temperature.
Troy - March 3, 2009 11:11 PM
I just had some stuff shipped from Alley Kat and the exact same thing happened, 1 froze and 2 just broke, but I did manage to salvage 3 delicious Pale Ales. Fat Cat out in BC is really good at shipping, so is Garrison in Halifax - lots of bubblewrap and cardboard.
Ian in Cowtown - March 4, 2009 11:44 AM
Sorry to hear about the frozen bottles. Hopefully the remainder are in good shape. If so, I know you'll enjoy the Mild. Its the kind of beer you've been pining for. Light (3.5%) but very tasty. I'd love to see more beers like this but I doubt it. Here's hoping mild will be the new extreme.
Alan - March 4, 2009 1:38 PM
I am very pleased it survived. It may lose it's independent existence this very night.
Good Burp - March 4, 2009 9:14 PM
That is tragic. I am in the process of making my first trade. I hope my package shows up better than yours did.
John Phoenix - May 25, 2009 4:16 AM
I am a professional beer connoisseur. ( I'm 41 and have been drinking beer most of my life lets put it that way.)
I have read the yahoo answers and such but from a professional brewer standpoint I wish to know: Does the alcohol content of beer go down when it freezes? Or even lets say some of it freezes and leaves that annoying frozen section in the bottle neck that you have to let thaw before you can drink it.
if you answer is no, it doesn't affect the strength, then what other problems besides having to let it thaw and broken bottles hapopen when it freezes?
I'm a New Orleans southern boy.. beer here Never freezes. ( unless you leave it in the freezer too long)
And lastly, another question.. I have heard that the shelf life of beer is 30 days. after that time the alcohol starts to turn to tanic acid and that's what gives you a headache when you drink beer. What do you think about this?
Jack Clark - May 27, 2009 5:47 PM
John. The alcohol of beer shoud not decrease when frozen. If anything, if may even increase since water freezes before ethanol. Onced thawed everthing should return to normal.
The sediment you see in frozen beer is mostly Beta Glucans. If only frozen once and gradually thawed, the beer should clear up on it's own. Multiple freezings and the haze becomes permanent.
If your beer's shelf life is only 30 days you have a severe problem. If your beer is pasteurized you shouldn't be concerned about microbiological stability. Shelf life mainly refer to physical stability, which is how long the beer stays clear before you notice the haze/sediment of the protein/tannin complex. This will depend on how well the beer has been naturally stabilized in the brewing/aging process, or artifically stabilized with adsorbant filter aids like PVPP or silica gels. Some refer to the flavour stability when speaking about shelf-life, which is how long the beer stands up before it oxidizes (opposite of fresh). This will depend on how good the oxygen control was throughout the brewing, aging and packaging process.
So you see the answer to "what is the shelf life of beer" is not easy. It depends....It's sort of like asking how long is a piece of rope.
Ethanol does not turn into tannins.