Uganda: Bar operators warned against freezing beer

Bar operators and the public have been cautioned against chilling beer to ice, The Monitor (Kampala) reported February 5. A chemist at Nile Breweries limited said freezing beer beyond 5 degrees centigrade downgrades the quality of beer by separating its contents.

Mr Richard Kaziba, the filtration manager of Nile Breweries said: "It is a wrong practice to freeze beer because beer has a different chilling point from water. A beer must be chilled between 5 and 7 degrees centigrade."

Mr Kaziba explained that turning beer into ice separates the contents of the beer in layer hence ruining its quality. He was addressing journalists at the launch of the company's beer tasting exercise at Luzira, on

In Uganda, bar operators and individuals in some households freeze beer as a remedy to power merchant Umeme Limted's timetabled load shedding exercise. The beer is frozen when power is available so that when there's a power black out, the beer is left to melt.

Mr Kaziba said that beer is not structured like water without content layers thus when its is iced and melted, the cohesion in the beer will be negatively affected. "Freezing beer also kills its taste," he added. Beer contains barley, water, and carbon dioxide among other ingredients.

He also advised whoever handles beer to keep beer out of natural light because it also reduces its quality. This was at the launch of Nile Breweries' annual Beer Tasting Exercise.

06 February, 2008