How to thaw a bottle of beer that got frozen accidentally without exploding the bottle Recently I had occasion to put @Kevin Selker 's answer to the test in terms of rapidly chilling beer. However, we uncovered a problem the next morning where people had taken beer and thrown it in the freezer only to forget about it.

I will flip this question around now, what is the best way (is it possible) to take beer from your freezer and safely thaw it for drinking? Is it actually worth drinking if you freeze it solid, then thaw it then chill it again? will the glass be compromised? anyway, i guess this is some regular event at my parents and i would like for this to stop happening.

[as an aside: we wrapped up the two bottles in towels and put them in the basement (which was relatively cool. we came back awhile later and the one bottle had exploded, the other on had a crack around the neck. we had to throw both out. so either this method is fail, or needed augmented.]
I've had the same experience as you, with beer and other liquids frozen in glass bottles.  Whenever I try to rapidly thaw them, it seems the structure of the glass is compromised in some way and it either explodes or cracks - this even has happened to me when trying to slow thaw, like you did.  

Beer bottles, and especially cans, can explode in the freezer and will make an ungodly mess.  Beer bottles exploding in the freezer are rare, but I've heard anecdotal stories from people I trust who said it has happened to them, perhaps with improper bottling and not enough room for expansion in the neck.

Since a few bad experiences with forgetting things in the freezer (I had an aluminum can of Hawaiian Punch literally explode all over the freezer one night, that was a MESS) I now only use the salted ice bath method!

I have tasted beer that was frozen and thawed without any glass shards in it, specifically a can of beer that partially exploded (I guess I didn't learn my lesson from the Hawaiian Punch that quickly).  It had enough left frozen in the bottom of the can that I figured I should thaw what was left, and give it a taste.  It wasn't bad, but it tasted a little...flatter than normal, I guess?  It just wasn't as full flavored as I expected.  Definitely a noticeable difference to me.