ICE COLD BEER! – Not So Fast
Why serving temperature matters
WIce cold beer might sound alluring, and I doubt anyone would salivate over “Luke warm beer!”, but the reality is that ice cold isn’t always ideal. Most fridges run around 3°C and most keg fridges run around the same. That’s 38°F, for those who prefer the F word. Just like fill levels and glassware, we don’t have much control over what goes on outside the house, but where we do have control, we should strive to exercise it. It’s pretty easy really. When planning ahead is possible, remove the beers that require a higher temperature ahead of time. When planning is not possible, well, drink slowly. Hands around the glass are a simple way to warm the beer up a bit too. Of course in the quest for equilibrium, your hands will get cold. Small sacrifices.
Pale lagers, IPAs, and pale ales work well at fridge temperatures. Imperial stouts do not. The basic rule is the more complex, the warmer it should be. This doesn’t mean warm beer, it means less cold. Colour can be a guide too, but not always. A dry irish stout on nitro works best in the 4-5°C range, where an American stout works better around 7°C. Again complexity matters, and trumps all. Alcohol content may also offer some direction. Despite having more complexity than say a cream ale, or a kölsch, a weissbier works well around 5°C. Light colour, average ABV, medium complexity. It’s an art, and a science. And an art.
Why does it matter? Well the more complex a beer, the more volatiles we need to release in order to fully experience it. The higher the temperature the more excited those aroma molecules will be. Industrial lagers, despite having stellar QA, first off don’t have a lot going on, and so don’t require a mega release of volatile aromatics. Secondly, some of the flavors in those beers can be less than desirable, and best kept at bay. Cream ales, as a craft example, can have some major DMS, that cooked corn, canned vegetable character. I find cream ales can have a cornchip like quality that is fine when cold, but can become rather uninspiring as it grows. Keeping certain beers cold suppresses undesirable flavours. Which opens the floor to other questions.
It’s an easy thing to remedy, and your tasting encounter will be the better for it. Here are some guidelines on serving temperature.
12°C Belgian dubbel, Belgian dark strong, imperial stout, barrel aged beers, barley wine, strong ales, Scotch ales/weeheavy, dunkles bock, dopplebock.
3°C Light lagers, pale lagers, industrial beers
5°C Weissbier, wit, pilsners, helles lager, nitro stouts and reds, blonde ales, cream ales, golden ales
7°C Belgian tripel, lambics and sours, belgian blond, belgian pale ale, IPA, pale ale, Maibock, amber ales, red ales, lighter brown ales, dunkels
10°C Cask ales, best bitters, porter, stout, dark lagers, more aggressive brown ales