It ’s game time . You ’re host , which makes you the quarterback of the political party . Your friend blitzes you with a six - pack of lovesome beer . Do n’t let this blitz get in the way of life of getting blitz . Here are two try and true flying beer - cooling techniques … and one harebrained scheme .
It ’s Friday good afternoon , you ’ve made it through the prospicient week , and it ’s time forHappy Hour , Gizmodo ’s weekly spirits newspaper column . A cocktail shaker full of innovation , science , and alcoholic drink . TOUCHDOWN , let ’s impale the biff !
#1: Salt, Water, n’ Ice
This is the knockout of alchemy . saltiness lower the freezing point of water importantly . Fill a tank with great deal of frosting , Strategic Arms Limitation Talks , and water . It should be skillful n ’ soupy . Cubes of have only so many point of contacts with a can of beer , whereas a solution like water can completely cover it in coldness , plus the answer will be about 25 degrees Fahrenheit . Using this technique , it ’s potential to get room - temperature beer down to the mid-30 ’s in less than 5 proceedings .
The only drawback to this proficiency is that by lowering the freezing point of the water the ice is going to melt tight , and once it ’s all mellow out the temperature will lift again . This means you perish to have to enfeeble some liquid out of the ice chest and continue adding more ice at even intervals . Not ideal in the middle of a close game . That say , it ’s a reliable solution that ’s secure for crapper or feeding bottle , and is probably your dependable bet .
#2: The Rag n’ Freezer
This one has the welfare of convenience . You might not have a cooler you could fill with a short ton of ice , pee , and salt , but there ’s in all likelihood a deep freezer nearby . Just putting it in the freezer ranger is n’t going to help your situation very much — you involve to envelop it up , son ! Take a couple paper towels and wrap them around your beer , then souse it in water . It should be soaked but not dripping ( you do n’t want ice form in your freezer ) . aura is not a very good heat - music director . body of water is a best music director , plus you get a small boost from evaporation . Pop it in the deep-freeze for 8 - 15 minutes , depending on the freezer ’s temperature ( err on the side of caution ) .
There are definitely drawbacks to this method acting , the biggest one being that you must not block about the beer in your freezer . Which , y’know , you ’re likely to do when you ’re drinking beer . limit a timekeeper and do n’t draw a blank it . If you leave it in too long the can or bottle may explode . Which is uncollectible . In fact , you probably should n’t try it with nursing bottle at all . It ’s no where near as effective as the piquant ice - water technique anyways . Not only does it take longer , it wo n’t get as cold , and you have to wrap each beer one by one , which wastes time and paper . But , it ’s also not the worst option out there .
#3: The Instant Beer Coldifier (experimental)
Okay , so I think I invented this , but then moments ago I understand that the Mythbusters already did it . I detest those guy wire ( and by hate , I mean love ) . But mine is really better , I intend . Here ’s what you need :
-1 tumid cooler
-1 funnel

-12 + feet of 3/8 - inch copper tube
-100 % non - corrosive silicone polymer sealer
-ice , water , and salt

-Duct tape
-Scrap styrofoam ( optional )
Get a length of 3/8 - inch copper tubing from a hardware or plumbing computer storage . I just found a 25 - foot roll for $ 27 . Perfecto . Attach one terminal to the inside of your cooler ’s faucet ( it will lets excess H2O out ) and seal it in there with 100 % silicone polymer sealer . Make certain it ’s non - vitriolic and non - toxic . This must be piss - smashed . If you have a better melodic theme than silicone sealer , do it . At the other terminal of the tube , attach the funnel , using sealant or duct tape — this one is a little less critical . You ’ll have to let it ready for 24 - hours . Once it ’s dry , space out the loops a scrap so they ’re not allude each other , but ensure they are stacked aright , so that the spiral is continuously going down . I ’m going to see if I can space them out by trend hole in scrap styrofoam . How much tube you ’ll necessitate depends on how big your tank is , but to a sure extent , the longer the tube , the colder the beer will be when it derive out .

Now put the cooler on a mesa ( or a stool in the tub , if you want to be careful ) and fill it with shabu ( as much ice as possible , remembering to keep the coils straight ) . Have it so the hose descend out of one of the sides , and so you ’ll be able to mostly close it later on . Now sum up a bunch of table salt . A cup ? Maybe two ? It’tlDepends on how big your cooler is . meet it the rest of the way of life with water . If you sealed everything right there should be no water leaking out of the spigot . exit the lid as much as possible ( with the funnel still stick out ) , and record the lid to the rim to help prevent high temperature - loss . Flush the metro out with body of water once ( if you have n’t already ) , and then you should be quick for game time .
This method should allow you to pour a warm beer into it and have it hail out icy cold in less than a minute . What ’s the point ? Your cooler and electric refrigerator can only gibe so much beer . This way you have unlimited memory and limitless cold beer . you may do one at a time , and your supporter will be wowed by the geeky scienciness of it . The reason this one is secure than the one made by the Mythbusters ( no offense Adam ) is on their first try they used wry ice , which froze the beer . The second time they just used regular ice , which did n’t get it cold enough ( and it leaked like mad ) . This should be the happy sensitive . When the game is over , you should be able-bodied to scrape off the silicone sealer and your ice chest will be back to normal .
The Disclaimer : I have n’t seek this yet . But I ’m blend in to this weekend , and I will document how that goes . Also , do n’t approximate my total lack of fine art skills . Glorious leader Joe Brown made me do it .

UPDATE 1 : Okay , as many commenters have pointed out the conception of # 3 has evidently been around for a long time . It ’s usually called a jockey box and it ’s confiscate to an unrefrigerated kegful . Well , A ) The Instant Beer Coldifier is a vastly higher-ranking name , understandably , B ) Jockey boxes broadly apply the kegful ’s insistency to force the beer though , where - as The Instant Beer Coldifier uses gravity , C ) estimable lot finding a jockey box for under $ 150 . Whereas it cost me less that $ 30 to mod my ice chest , and it ’s obliterable and reusable , and , finally five hundred ) The sealer is drying on my hurriedly thrown together prototype right now . Stay tuned …
UPDATE 2 : Failure . But an interesting one .
Had everything set . television camera peal . I poured the beer in , and … it just stopped . It refused to go through the tubes . I take out the funnel off and blew it through ( which took a pot of effort ) . I thought it must be so cold that it was stop dead in there , but then water streamed through just ok . I did a few more tests ( do in three beers in the procedure ) , until I in conclusion find the culprit .

Carbonation . The carbonation causes air pockets ( or gas pockets , really ) to build up in the tubing . The gas want to rise while the liquid wants to come , but because the subway system is pretty narrow-minded they come to a standstill until one motion to the side enough for the other to slip by . Because of the tube ’s low - grade declivity , gravity is n’t strong enough to pull it all through . This is why jockey boxes apply a keg ’s pressure to push it through . I tested this theory by sending carbonate water down , and sure enough enough , it got stuck , too .
To be fair there is a turn of unevenness in the downward slope of the tubing ( it was hastily throw away together on a Friday night ) , which definitely adds to the problem . It would also probably aid if I took another cringle ( ~42 in ) out to make the declivity steep .
The good intelligence is that the 66 - degree beer was 39 - degrees when it follow out . The forged news is that it was fairly flat , and I had to flub into the pipe like Louis Armstrong to get it . Not worth the trouble . But I ’ll do some tinkering with the design and we ’ll see what ’s what .

icon credit entry : Shutterstock / Dewayne Flowers
HacksHow ToSuperSuper Bowl
Daily Newsletter
Get the near tech , scientific discipline , and polish news in your inbox daily .
newsworthiness from the future tense , delivered to your present .
You May Also Like








![]()
