What temperature do you prefer your stouts?

You tend to put things so diplomatically .

 

It's a gift.

 

I prefer to have my stouts at cellar temperature (50-55F or thereabouts) as a starting point. I'll usually put a room temperature stout in the fridge for half an hour or so prior to consuming it. If it's in the fridge, I'll take it out and let it warm up.

Of course, none of this is etched in stone. I recently had a Central Waters Brewer's Reserve Rum Barrel Coconut Porter (12.2% ABV) that I sampled a little south of cellar temperature. It was an absolute and unequivocal mess. I pretty much wrote it off, but was too lazy to get up and drainpour it right away. I decided to try it again an hour or so later at room temperature. The transformation was almost magical. The flavors had come alive and everything had settled into perfect balance. I guess the moral, if there is one, is that everything has its own sweet spot.

 

For some reason this reminds me of myself sitting at the pub with my hand around the bowl of the snifter desperately trying to warm up the beer inside.

 

Falling asleep in a chair and waking up an hour later works equally well.

 

I experience this too at the warmest tempertures.

My cellar is pretty solidly at 50* 8 months of the year, and bringing a beer (Saison, wild/sour, Gueuze, Lambic, Stout, Quad or Barleywine) up from the basement to drink straight away is a simple pleasure that's one of few saving graces of that long season. I still prefer a little chill on it as the cellar gets closer to 60* in the Summer, so 55* is probably the sweet spot for me. I do like my hoppier ales, lagers and lighter fruit beers (New Glarus, Turbo Shandy) at fridge temperatures.

Now, about those brewery taprooms that expressly and frequently recommend serving their beers at warmer temperatures, but don't actually do so...

 

Or if you have some barrel strength shit. My stomach can't take 140 proof whiskey without an ice cube.

 

I usually prefer my Stouts at room temp. ABV doesn't really factor into my decision.

 

I like to start out relatively cold and let it warm as I drink. Sometimes, I will pour half the bottle and return the bottle to the refrigerator while I drink the first half.

 

Whatever temperature it comes out of the tap

 

Not that I mind those whiskeys, but I think the sweet spot is somewhere between 80 and 100 proof, depending on the brand. I agree with you. Barrel-strength stuff needs cut with a fair amount of water or it's just an uncomfortable experience.

 

I'd say give it a try. How hot does your house really get?

I've come to a personal conclusion: I'm not going to make myself crazy over temperature differences unless they're extreme which means leaving no beer in hot cars in the Summer, not leaving beer in cars in the Winter when the temp is below freezing, and not leaving any bottles in direct sunlight (especially hoppy ones). Outside of that I'm over thinking and making myself crazy.

 

As a non sequitur to the question, Stout and Porter seem to taste better from a pewter tankard

 

I like to have the beer start out cold, from the fridge, and then taste the differences as it warms up. It lets me experience the full range the beer has to it.

 

That's interesting...can not tell if serious

 

I can see no reason why it should taste better, it just seems to

 

Pretty much this. But I like my stout a little closer to 55 and my IPAs a little closer to 45

 

I usually pour my stouts from the bottle straight out of the fridge. So presumably between 39F and 42F (if I had to bullshit guesstimate how much my beer warms sitting outside while I run in to grab some extra camera gear and frame my shot, and my two fridges vary in temperature - beer fridge is warmer).

I usually find that I like them warmed a smidge more than that for both unflavored and flavored versions. A smidge meaning perhaps ~10 degrees...? So total speculation (you all can see my math here).

The only glimmer of substance I have to back this claim up is I was once served Vanilla Bean Abraxas from the draft at Side Project on a tap that is clearly labeled as 52F on their website. I don't know how much they deviate from their temperature claims, but I thought that stout was just prime for drinking. Assuming they keep a tight tolerance on their temperature regulation, and my guesstimating skills are somewhat strong, I'd say I prefer stouts in the 52F range with a preference for a colder first glass vs. a warmer second glass if serving from a bomber (I usually don't place a bomber back in the fridge once I've poured my first glass).