Word: ice well Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From ice + well. 1. A well (hole in the ground) in which ice was stored in the era of the ice trade and iceboxes (18th to mid-20th centuries); often with some degree of construction over it, similar to that used with icehouses, root cellars, and springhouses. Labels: archaic Example: As I had succeeded a year before in the preservation of hopped wort by means of ice, I thought I would now endeavor to cure this unsound beer by means of the same agency. A few casks, each containing seventy liters, were filled with this beer and placed in an ice well. After four or five months they were taken out and examined, when it was found that the original good quality of the beer was predominant. The beer was not only clear, but of good taste, while the cloudy beer which had remained in the cellar turned sour and completely bad in a few days. Here we see that the destructive action which had commenced in the beer was suddenly arrested by the influence of the low temperature of the ice well; there was no increase of acidity, and eventually the secondary fermentation took place unhindered, whereby again, as in the case of sound beer, alcohol and carbonic acid were produced. The external characteristics of the "cured" beer were as follows: The smell on opening the bung was good and the taste clean and sharp; the surface of the beer showed minute bubbles such as are usually found in a normal after fermentation. The beer was sent from the ice well to a distant cellar which was not cooled; here it cleared itself again in a very short time, showing that the wild ferments were unable to exercise any action even under the conditions of raised temperature. This experiment was at the time very much called in question, which was scarcely to be wondered at, considering how deeply rooted antiquated or preconceived ideas take hold of one's mind. But the doubt only leads on to the truth if suspicions are tested by means of experiments. The internal processes at work in this case may be explained in the following manner: That the "dusty" beer owed its turbidity to acetic acid was clear, from the circumstance that the beer remaining in the store cellar turned sour in a few days and completely turbid. We shall not err, therefore, if we conclude that the acetic ferment was thrown out of action by the cold temperature of the ice well. The low temperature stopped the decomposition of the yeast by the acetic acid, and the acetification of the alcohol was also arrested. Example: Ice wells for cooling and storing milk and cream on the farm may prove a solution of the refrigeration problem on many dairy farms where the usual methods are too expensive or impracticable. The ice well has been in use in Canada for many years, but slight if any use has been made of it in this country. The Bureau of Dairy Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture has conducted an experiment in cooperation with the North Dakota Agricultural College at Mandan, N. D. The department has issued the following statement: "On a well-drained spot near the milk house and convenient to the well, a pit was dug eight feet square and nine and one-half feet deep. The sides were boarded up with cheap lumber, and the bottom covered to a depth of one and one-half feet with coarse gravel to insure good drainage. A small house was erected over the pit. The floor was of two thicknesses of planking, with building paper between the layers, and it was built in sections to permit easy removal during freezing. Windows in the house provided air circulation in the winter, but were closed during the summer. A wooden rack or basket suspended from a pulley overhead, served for raising and lowering the cans of cream and other food products held in storage. […] "Meat, fruit and vegetables, as well as milk and cream, were stored in the pit and kept perfectly. No offensive odors were detected at any time throughout the summer in the well or in any of the stored products. While the Department of Agriculture officials believe the ice well will prove a satisfactory means of refrigeration on many farms in the regions where other methods are impracticable, they point out that the results obtained at Mandan represent only one season's trial. The work will be continued, however, with some slight variations. "The main points suggested for consideration in building an ice well are the selection of a well-drained site and the provision of proper drainage so the ice water can run away from the bottom of the pit. Also the pit should be located as near to the milk house as possible, and for convenience, near to the well for water supply. The floor of the house should be tight so the air circulation can be reduced to a minimum during the summer months. The cost of an ice well will vary with conditions, but by using home labor and the cheaper grades of lumber the cost will be small.