Serving Temps and Better Beer Drinking

There's nothing like an ice cold stout served in a champagne flute.

 

I read the comment as directed at those who always drink the beer too cold, where "as it warms" means "as it reaches optimal temp". At least, that is how I take the comment.

 

Seems to me that for beer, the carbonation would escape as the beer became warmer making it flat, thick and perhaps a bit yucky? For Cider it might be okay..I don't know but there are times of the year when a hot spiced HARD CIDER would be pretty delicious...Personally I cannot say that for beer.

 

Get a jelly jar straight from the dishwasher, and drop a few ice cubes in your barrel aged stouts as well.... THAT'S Livin!!!!

 

Unibroue Quelque Chose was designed to be warmed up before drinking.

http://www.unibroue.com/en/beers/27/product

 

More than several years ago, I was at a bar, bought a Russian Imperial stout, bartender pulled it off a shelf, opened it, and handed it to me, room temp.

I have never refrigerated or chilled a stout since.

AAL - rare occasion I am having a few, I want them as cold as possible. When they warm, bad things happen. Very bad. But can work when well chilled.

I drink differnent styles at different temperatures, and I get maximum enjoyment. Mostly end of following the standard, but I do what works for me.

 

Is this true? I'm interested in trying this out. My "birthday" beer is a barrel-aged stout that's in my cellar. I should probably just bring it up and serve it as is in a couple weeks, huh?

 

Another factor that comes into play is the ambient temp. If the room temp is cooler then I'll drink the beer at optimal temp as it'll stay in that range for a longer period of time. If it's summer or the room is just warm for some reason then I prefer to start chilled as it'll quickly climb into the proper temp and will finish it before it starts to get on the nasty side of warm.

 

It's mission critical kind of stuff.

 

During the winter I keep all beers in my basement and just pull off shelf and drink.. Just did this last night with a 2013 bcbs and it was perfect temp for enjoying.

 

There has been some discussion concerning how beer can improve as you let it warm up over a period of time in the beer glass. The term that I use for letting a beer kind of sit for a short period of time (e.g., 15 minutes) in a glass is that the beer “opens up”. In my opinion the opening up process is a combination of both the beer warning up but also the effects of some of the beer’s CO2 coming out of solution.

For my palate, a beer that has been consumed slowly and the beer permitted to “open up” is not the same as just starting off drinking a warm beer. I have tried both methods and I think that the opening up process is better.

Cheers!

 

With all the talk on serving temp, does storing temp have an effect on the beer? I keep all of my beers in the same fridge unless I am cellaring them, so it's pretty cold in there. I have always just taken out the stouts, saison, etc... & let them warm up before I drink them. So if you are not aging the beer can keeping them at too cold of a temp & letting them warm before drinking be a problem?

 

“…does storing temp have an effect on the beer?” Yes. For beers that you are not cellaring the best temperature to store beer is cold (e.g., refrigerator temperatures). This cold storage greatly slow down oxidation processes and consequently ******s the beer going stale.

“…can keeping them at too cold of a temp & letting them warm before drinking be a problem?” Not a problem at all and as was discussed above it is actually a good thing.

Cheers!

 

What's the best way to get the beer to proper temperature? I know that sounds funny, but I have one fridge in my house and it's in the typical mid 30's. How long do I need to let a bomber sit out before it warms back up to ~55? How can I ensure it actually is 55?

 

if your beer doesn't taste acceptable at room temperature or slightly above it's because it's not a good beer.

 

You can be precise about it and get a digital scanning thermometer, or you can use trial and error. Start with 10 min out of the fridge. If that’s still too cold let it sit a bit and try again... After a while you develop a feel for how much time works best for different beers.

Edit: Basically 55 means "about 55" and a bit of difference won't make a lot of difference.

 

I pay very close attention. It is critical to the enjoyment of the beer, as well as glassware. I think beer has moved at such a pace in recent years that alot of people are jumping in and really not putting themselves in a position to fully appreciate the product. They are buying Ferrari's and putting 14" tires on them. Proper temp makes a world of difference.

 

For me, stouts and barley wines are best at 55+ degrees and warmer.

There is something sultry about consuming these beers at warmer temps because the typical "warm tasting" flavor profile (coffee, cinnamon, chocolate, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, brown sugar, etc.) of these beers is simply more pronounced at warmer temps. Beers in this category tend to open up as they warm, flavors expand and separate so beginning to imbibe at around 55 degrees and continuing to drink while allowing the temperature of the beer to rise over time is IMHO the optimal way to experience the full bouquet of what they have to offer.

 

This is going to sound weird but bear with me...I keep all my cellared beer under the stairs in my basement with a clock I found at a grocery store that happened to have a thermometer in it. So I just use it as a gauge to see how cold it is in my cellar. Pretty much stays at 55 degrees.

They also make Wine chillers that are temperature controlled down to the degree...

 

I do this mainly because I like most beers at 10 degrees cooler than optimum temperature as compared to 10 degrees warmer. If I have a big RIS that I will sip over an hour and start the beer at 55-60 degrees then by the time I am done it will be room temperature of 70-75. I'd rather start at 45 and have it warm to 55-60 or a bit more.