How do you control beer serving temps?

A crappy bottle of red wine might be easier to drink after spending 15 minutes in the freezer, but it's not going to be better for it.

I might be a beer advocate, but I'm also a wine connoisseur. If I ever took a bottle of wine near the freezer, my wife would slap me.

 

I worked harder on my pacing (slowing down) than the temperature control, the upshot being I finish most of my beers way warmer than they started. I also tend to start most of my beers near ice cold, which some consider a big foul, but what happens is I get to experience a beer's full range of notes from very cold to about 60 degrees.

Personally, I wouldn't sweat it too much. Unless you live on either pole, you can always let a beer sit and warm. Plus, how does anybody consume 12 oz. (or more) of beer at one single temperature? Chances are they're not ... they're drinking a beer in a range of temperatures, a range possibly as wide as 15-20 degrees.

 

I have found for some IPA's they can be astringent at lower temps. If it doesn't taste right, I usually let it sit awhile and do something else. If I am going to have another, I will usually bring it out of the fridge and let it sit while I finish the other. I have one dedicated beer cooler that is set around 45, and everything else goes in the fridge, which can be between 35 and 38 depending on where it is sitting, so usually have to let beers coming from the fridge set out a while. I have been to some bars where their stouts are served way too cold, I will usually order the stout about 15 min before I want it.

 

red wine needs 2 hours at least in the fridge and white wine four. (just my preferences) As for beer, I take them out of the fridge and wait. 20 minutes should give you a nice cellar temp!

 

Typically, I'll just deal with the temp stuff by pouring a smaller serving. If I'm using a wine glass. I'll cup it, and maybe gently swirl it to bring it up to temp.
If the beer is a style that demands it. I just store them ambient temp. In the winter, that works out pretty well and I don't chill those beers down until after I open it. If the first pour feels a bit warm. The second glass typically is right in the sweet spot.
If I have to use it. The quick chill can work, if you use a timer. Pro-tip. Use a damp paper towel. I've gotten ice crystals in like 20 minutes using that method. I'd also be cautious with anything with some sediment on the bottom as the co2 trapped in it might have a desire jump out of solution, and rupture when you open it.
If I were more particular, I'd get a separate fridge just for beer and leave it at 45ºf.

 

Have a beer fridge. I keep mine on the warmest setting, which is 55 degrees. Added bonus is the wife won't give me heck if the beer is taking up too much shelf space!

 

Wine fridge for me. It's a small one, but it does the trick of keeping my beer temps at a perfect 55 degrees

 

I do as Maria posted above: for beers that I prefer to drink warmer than refrigerator temperature I simply take the bottle out and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.

Cheers!

 

I just take it out of the fridge and guestimate

If it's too cold, I let it warm up in the glass

 

I used the dial in the rear of the top shelf of the DBF*
_______
* Ya know, thinking about it now ---I don't see this abbreviation much anymore for the "Dedicated Beer 'Fridge".

 

This is a bit extreme. I just throw it in the fridge and drink it when I get around to it. I don't compulsively worry about all of the idiosyncratic routines that beer advocates seem to advocate for. Really, think about it. Let's say you took your perfectly cellared stout, poured it into your appropriate glassware you painstakingly hand washed with unscented soap and an organic grassfed cashmere shamois, and now you wait with a freshly calibrated thermoprobe for the perfect serving temp. Do any of these steps really matter if you had some curry for dinner and your palate is off? How about a pilsner in the summer after you mow the lawn? All that debris in the air is going to inflame your sinuses to some degree, right? My point is this, beer is, in my mind, art. Yes, there is science behind it, but it is meant to be fun. It's meant to push boundaries and enhance our lives, it's meant to create memories. Do as you wish, but I encourage you to not take it so serious.

 

In addition to the "wine fridge" set at 55 degrees that I have, I too take beers out of the regular refrigerator and let them warm up on the counter for about 20 minutes. The avg. 'fridge is set to cool food at 38 - 40 degrees. Perfect for El Presidente (kidding, but cold Mexican beer is better cold, IMO) but in general a bit too cold to drink for many styles of beer...

Last month the Mrs. got me for my birthday a food/beverage thermometer - "Super-Fast Thermapen" by ThermoWorks. Highly recommended by chefs AND beer geeks. Great product!

For example, took this morning's stout out of the 'fridge to "warm" as I walked the dogs. Approximately 40 minutes later, I poured the beer and it had warmed to 53 degrees. Still a little on the chill side, but there you go. By 60 degrees my Bourbon County Brand Stout was sublime!

Let big beers and stouts warm up, and drink well friend! Cheers!

 

I find if the beer is too cold swallowing quickly warms it up.

 

As others have mentioned, I find 15-20 min. warming outside the fridge to work fairly well.

That said, for many beers, especially when reviewing, I actually enjoy sipping the beer and enjoying the changes in the beer's aromas and flavors as the beer warms from fridge to almost room temperature. For some beers there's an opening up of the aromas and flavors that has helped me understand why I might want to even pay any attention at all to serving temperatures and/or glassware shapes.

(Also, since I'm a cheapskate, knowing how the flavors and aromas change as the beer warms helps me decide which beers are worth my time and money to have again and which I'm going to avoid even when offered for free. )

 

Seriously! I mean, seriously? (I mourn the death of the adverb! Grammar is my affliction, I know...)

OK, seriously...

I agree with your general point. I have one of those small cube-shaped 'fridges that I use for beer. It is set at the low 40's. But, it is frequently too small and the overflow goes into the regular 'fridge.

I'll try to put the lighter, hoppier beers there and the heavier, maltier beers in the small 'fridge when the small one overflows, but I won't reshuffle everything just to do that.

As far as drinking the beers out of the regular 'fridge? I just take them out, open them, pour, and begin enjoying. Not worth fretting over, IMO.

 

In my defense I dropped out of college, in your defense my major was in English.

 

You have to be careful with some types of beer when chilling them in the freezer. I have found that Chilling a Belgian quad or dubble too quickly results in massive over carbonation. Once the cork shot off a bottle of chimay blue as soon as I removed the cage after about a 20 minute trip to the freezer.