You hear about it all the time, particularly with stouts and barrel aged beers, that a beer opens up as it warms up. I've noticed this over the years with many beers and it's fun to see how the beer changes as it warms up. I had a bottle of the 2014 Adam FTW the other day and this was the best example ever. When it's fridge temp, the beer is just good. Once it warms up, the heat starts to come out as well as chocolate, dark fruit, and flavors galore. It's amazing how much this beer changes with the changing temerature. If you've never experienced a beer opening up, this is a great one to get.
It really is a great part of the beer drinking experience and shows that it pays to pace yourself when consuming sometimes! I really noticed the "opening up" quality of beer with Dogfish Indian Brown Ale. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I did my first BA review on that beer.
I agree on all fronts...I mostly drink IPAs, DIPAs and barlywines, in my opinion all three styles go through a transformation as they warm. I love the initial smells that I get from a cold pour but the subtle nuances in flavor really are very noticeable as the beer warms. The IPAs that I drink tend to be on the upper ABV side and as a hole think the higher the ABV in any given beer, the more likely it will "mature" as it warms.
I think it has more to do with the fact our palate is more able to pick up flavor in a warmer beer than a cold beer.
The best example I've experienced so far is the Evil Twin Barrell Aged Biscotti. It was great at the first pour, but continued to improve as it warmed. Amazing!
wow and the Brits used to get shit for serving beer at room temps, lol and heaven forbid it was in a cask... yea cold beer is beer you cannot taste. yea I never "rate" a beer until it hits 50F or so. Still I been guilty of guzzling a hefe or a wit a few times.
I've noticed subtle changes from beer to beer but have to say Panther Cub becomes a completely different beer once it spends about 25 minutes in the glass.
I went on a tour at Flying Dog a couple months ago and the headbrewer told us that the ideal drinking temperature for any beer is room temperature. He said that's when the flavors are most prominent. I found that very interesting.
Beers and wines for that matter, that are bigger and more complex, tend to open and evolve as they come to room or at least warmer temperatures....
It has a lot to do with numbing of your taste buds as mentioned above. Hence why Coors Light want you to taste the Rockies when they are blue b/c your taste buds will be frozen and you won't taste anything! I does have to do with the beer too since I think aroma does seem to come out and shine more as it warms as well.
I prefer to drink stouts and sours near room temp....or a very slight chill. The rest i drink *saison, pilsner,etc* around 45-50 degrees f
I don't think I ever drank a Goose Island BCBS or Brooklyn BCS even slightly chilled. I like my IPAs, Hefeweizens and Pale Ales cold, most other styles around 45-50 F.
Haha I remember my first bcbs...did NOT let it warm and remember thinking 'meh, good but I dont know what the hype is about' then a few months later I drank one starting at 48°.what a frigging amazing difference. As a general rule I always let a beer 'rest' for 10-15 min before enjoying. Unless im somewhere where its just bmc, then I drink quick
Had a Hill Farmstead Edward on draft the other night and it got better as it warmed up. The challenge is not to quaff it when it is cold, especially with Mexican food!
Years ago, I had a professor in at MSU-back when I was a HRI major-Chef Minor who made the statement that cold really masks the flavor of food. His example was chocolate ice cream. Rock hard frozen chocolate ice cream does not have much of a taste, but let it warm up till it is soft and you can began to really enjoy the flavors. 30+ years later I apply the same technique to a good tasty stout or porter. I never put it in the fridge for more than 30 minutes and then let it sit out as I slowly drink and enjoy it.
Temp does have a lot to do with it, however a good pour into an appropriate vessel helps s well. Some glasses have etching that acts as a nucleation point to induce more off gassing which also causes turbulence and releases volatiles. Case in point, GI Sofie. I drink her at cellar temps, however the initial few sips are nowhere as amazing as the last few simply because the beer hasn't "opened up" via off gassing C02 and releasing yeast esters that affect both aroma and flavor.
