2 Beer Guys Blog

Welcome to the 2 Beer Guys Blog! Here, you will be able to read our stories and adventures as we travel through the world of craft beer.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

What's the proper temperature for serving? - You decide



Are you satisfied with the temperature of your beer?

Generally, I am satisfied. The temperature of beer is more situational for me. For Example, after spending 2-3 hours cutting the grass, I navigate towards a very cold lager or light ale. For reviewing, we always use a non chilled class and try keep the beer around cellar temperature.

When going to the 99's restaurant, they always sever your beer in a frozen glass. Do you like it? Would you rather have it cooler or warmer?

Please comment on this post and let us know how you feel.

Sean
2Beerguys.com

Drink Craft Beer, You've Earned It!!





So, what is the right temperature for craft beer? This is an even more complicated answer. Different beers are best served at different temperatures, but as a general rule of thumb ales are generally better served at warmer temperatures than lagers. That’s a broad generality, because bigger, headier beers like barley wines, imperial stouts (ales) and even dopplebocks (lagers) are best fairly warm — at around 58 to 59 degrees or so — and beers like German pilsners, a good hefeweizen, and the better premium American lagers (Full Sail’s Session, for example) should be served pretty cold, say around 40 to 42 degrees.

And, of course, there are exceptions to every guideline. I love Great Divide Brewing Company’s Samurai (a rice ale) served damned near ice-cold and specialty beers such as Unibroue’s Quelque Chose or Liefmans Gluhkriek are best mulled (heated) to upwards of 130 degrees or more depending on taste. How does a publican manage all of this? In most establishments, all of the kegs are housed in the same cooler and not individually temperature controlled so the barkeep’s got another hurdle to leap.



Link to the full article
Filed under Anchorage Press, Home Page - Bottom, Food & Drink, Brew Review, Vol. 16, Ed. 44 on Wednesday, October 31, 2007 by Author: James "Dr. Fermento" Roberts.

1 Comments:

  • At Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 8:53:00 PM EST, Blogger Beeracy said…

    To be honest, I think the temperature that I enjoy most beers at is almost completely dependent on the situations revolving around when I am savoring the brew, and which beer I am drinking.

    On a hot summer day after a day out on the trails or in the yard, give me that frosted glass and a light lager (do I dare mention the "light beers of the unrefined palate"?). In spring and early summer, a chilled glass (sans the ice) filled with a heffe or ale. In autumn, nothing is better than a pumpkin ale, IPA, or Oktoberfest in a non-chilled glass. While in deep winter, pour on that stout in a non-chilled glass.

    Just please, please, don't give me a beer in a hot glass... that's just uncalled for, and not very beer-friendly!

     

Post a Comment

<< Home