ice-cold beer

Also what I do sometimes is put about a 1/2 to 1 inch of water
in a pint glass and freeze it to ice. Then I pour my beer slowly
down the side of the tilted pint glass. It's cool. No pun intended.
Works for me.

 

Anything hoppy and Bmc, cold. Maybe a bit colder, but you can let it breath a bit. Dark BA stouts, about 50 degrees and go from there.

 

To esach his own, but I do think you may be missing out on some of the complex flavors and everchanging taste of a good craft beer by doing this !

 

Ah, good old Coors Light. Beer brewed for people so stupid they can't tell that the beer is cold by feeling the bottle.

 

Just got this in my inbox: Proper Beer Serving Temperatures

 

I'll usually let one sit out until it gets a good sweat going on before opening and pouring. And about the England remark, why have I watched Mr. Frank Gallagher on the original UK "Shameless" open many a pint right from the fridge? I believe that is an old wive's tale. Or I guess in the instance an old brewer's tale.

 

depending on the style i usually drink from 37-39F.

stouts and porters I tend to like in the upper 40's and lower 50's range though.

 

The British do not drink beer at room temperature. That's a long standing American myth. Their excellent cask-conditioned ales are served at what they call cellar temperature, which is in the low 50's F. It's plenty cool to be refreshing, but not chilled to the point that the delicate flavor characteristics are muted. Our beers are over chilled and usually reveal more complexities when at cellar temp.

 

It does dull beer flavors, but due to the effect cold temp. has on our tastebuds and the nerves connected to them. When our hands get really cold we lose our tactile sensations in the same way. Some here are voicing the simplistic, knee-jerk response of "drink it the way you want and don't worry what others think", but that entirely misses the real point. Drinking superchilled craft beer has the same effect on the taste as listening to music with cotton stuffed in your ears has on the sound.

 

When I used to bartend, I had a guy order a Corona on the rocks with a salt rim and a straw. No shit. To my credit, I served it with a straight face and zero commentary. Got a nice tip, too, so I guess he was used to getting shit about his beer-drinking habits.

To this day I can't figure out why you'd want a salt rim and a straw.

On topic: Usually start at fridge temp, knowing that I'm going to drink the darker beers slower, so they're going to have a chance to warm up and hit that sweet spot while I'm enjoying them. And yeah, there's a lot to miss out on if you are drinking your beer too cold.

 

Sounds like you did the right thing.

But I think the whole subjectivity/relativism angle some people come from has its limits, and an important line is crossed when it alters the norms for what is the default serving. I know it sounds crazy but just imagine having to constantly order your craft beer without ice cubes. It's also annoying to have to specify that a bourbon barrel aged stout not be served in a frozen glass. Or a Stone Enjoy By. etc. This is one example where growth in craft beer as it spreads to becoming more mainstream isn't necessarily always a good thing.

 

I certainly do not disagree with this as a generalism.

 

I always ask for warm (room temp) glass. I usually get a funny look. And I know people who put ice in their Coors Light.

 

I tend to like it warmer, but with a little chill...

 

Never, and I mean NEVER put your glassware in the freezer!

 

Quoted for truth.

 

darker, stronger beers I drink direc from my cellar. Everything else is from the fridge. I have my beer fridge set on the warmest setting, "1".

 

I had a de Garde Petit Mosaic at near freezing temperature and it was fantastic.

 

I drink IPAs and APAs out of cold...not frozen glassware. Lagers....sometimes out of frozen glasses.