How Do You Serve Your Beer?

[Beer Nazi]

How do you serve your beer?

[deanna]

Can't stand good beer too cold -- so I never chill the glass unless I'm serving macrobrews to the fearful uninitiated. Macros are better very cold I think.

[Aleman]

deanna
This is correct. Cold suppresses the flavor of beer. For macros this is for the better.

For GOOD beer all the flavors need to be displayed and savored.

[Brewstervii]

I like warmer temperature beer served in a frosty glass, I have to agree about beer the is too cold not being flavorful.

[Beer Nazi]

Exactly - unless you're serving Bud or Miller or Falstaff or Schlitz, then you want it as cold as possible!!!!

[CA Stu]

There's nowhere to vote for "in a funnel"?

[Beer Nazi]

HA HA HA...... I am ashamed!!!! I TOTALY forgot about a funnel!!

Nothing like beer-bonging a Mickeys 40..... :D

[JorisP]

Some beers NEED a frosted glass. Typical example: the snifter for EKU 28°b. Only way you'll get a good presentation head on it. As the glass is quite small, it warms up fast, delivering the scala of tastes - which is pretty sweet anyway. Brewery itself recommends this way.

[hnrblbrbrn]

Uh Oh I've got a prob. I pour my beer into a Mason or empty jelly jar, does that count as a bottle or a glass?:D

[Beer Nazi]

Oh no, that depends on if you play the washboard or spoons!! :D

[b3s]

http://us.st6.yimg.com/store4.yimg.com/I/manplanet_1733_10505775

:D

room temperature glass, cool (not cold) beer.

although, the dirty ashtray selection got me thinking back to college. my roomate commented on the "fire brewed strohs" and said "yeah...miller poured through a can of smoldering cigarette butts" or something like that.

[paul84043]

You missed the "pour straight into your mouth" option...

In lieu of that I have to vote for a glass straight out of the cupboard.
I have three Arrogant Bastard glasses and two Smuttynose glasses, they are very cool.

[S.F.B.]

I likes mine around 50-55 degrees F. Pub pints straight from the cupboard.

[hopjack13]

i have an arrogant bastard glass myself, one red one white, a stone glass, guinness , north coast, alcatraz , rhino chaser, bass, alesmith....well it goes on and on i have about 20 pint glass's in my cupboard and only three are clear the rest are from one brewery to another...kinda a collection, but put to good use i asure you. and NONE ever see the inside of a freezer( not for my beer anyway) glass's are important. i have 23oz beer glass's , mugs,pilsner glass's ,trappest glass's......okay im starting to rant
cheers

[cyanide]

I have a pilsner glass, a pint glass and a regular glass mug, different beers call for different glasses... I usually keep them in freezer with plastic over them to protect from the freezer air getting in there and leaving unwanted flavors.

Nothing like pouring a cold beer in them and getting condensation on the glass, making it all the more visually appealing.

[paul84043]

Just wait until you've brewed a few batches of your own! You will be amazed at how much flavor there is as the beer warms up to room temp! The way the beer changes is really interesting, and when it's "warm" it's still good!

[cyanide]

Originally posted by paul84043
when it's "warm" it's still good!

You don't happen to be English? ;)

[fretlessman71]

The ashes give beer a nice smoky flavor, while the shallow design allows the beer to "breathe" a little more. The notches are simply an easier sipping system - less spills this way.

You don't happen to be English?

No, Cy, you don't have to be English to enjoy your beer at something other than 33 degrees... remember that what the English call "room temperature" is about 60 degrees (Richard, please tell me if this is right or not), and the heavier the beer, the closer to this temp. you probably want it to be. If you're drinking a crisp lager in July in the south, then by all means get it nice and cold, but otherwise my taste buds aren't going to be interested until that beer has sat there in the glass for a good 20 minutes or so. Be brave - let your taste buds do the talking!

[hopjack13]

i fully agree with fret, i have an infared thermometer i use to check the temp on my beer before i consume it. a good ale sould be between 50 to 55 degrees, or so i've read. how ever i like mine much warmer . arrogant bastard is best (in my opinion) around 60 -65 degrees. all the flavors and aromas are displayed so much better.

[Drinkman]

I'll have to say I also agree with fret, but using an IR thermometer to check your beer temperature? Hopjack, if you're using one you already happened to have, that's one thing, but if you bought one for that purpose, you are one HELL of a serious beer drinker! Hats off to you, I bow to greatness!

[chazwicke]

I think Richard would agree that 55 is proper cellar temperature for real ales. I think it was Gary Heurich's line of Foggy Bottom beers that I read published temperatures for each style. I believe they ranged from 48 to the high 50s. I agree with all the others a cool beer tases much better than an ice cold, tastebud freezing beer. Even in the summer after mowing the lawn!

[Richard English]

Traditional Real Ales are served at "cellar temparature" which is usually said to be around 50 degrees Farhrenheit. "Room temperature" is probably too warm, especially these days when most people have well-heated rooms whose temperature is normally around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

At one time a pub was judged on the temperature of its cellar, with the best pubs having cellars that kept cool even in the height of summer. Nowadays many pubs have air-conditioned cellars so the correct temperature can be maintained, regardless of the design or location of the cellar.

It is a myth the the English like to drink their beer warm; it's just that they don't like it frozen. Before refrigeration beers were brewed to taste right at the temperature of a cool cellar and that's the correct temperature for Real Ales. A-B fizz and its clones are brewed to taste of almost nothing at all at 33 degrees Fahrenheit; let them warm up and they tastes positively foul.

I keep my bottled Real Ales in a fridge (not a freezer) and its temperature is around 45 degrees. By the time I've poured the beer (into a room temperature glass) and admired its colour and bouquet, it's just about ready to drink.

My suggestion to all who are new to Real Ales is to start with them fairly cold and to taste them at intervals as they warm up. You will soon discover the temperature that suits you best.

[dawg]

I like to drink beer out of a miniature recycling bin/pencilholder.

[chazwicke]

I much prefer a clean glass. Any other way is positively uncivilized.

[hopjack13]

? Hopjack, if you're using one you already happened to have, that's one thing, but if you bought one for that purpose, you are one HELL of a serious beer drinker!

well im one hell of a serious beer drinker and i brought it home for that single purpose, BEER! but i got one hell of a discount on it , so it wasn't as exspensive as you might think.

[bhoshour]

I HAVE to serve my beer in a clean, un-labeled glass. Each beer, and each session, is a unique experience. It is very difficult to appreciate the head, color, and retention of your beer if you have it in the bottle or the can. Beer just looks better with a foamy head, some belgian lace, and its body visible throughout the drink. I refrigerate my beer, but never use forsted glasses. I like my stouts and porters closer to room temp, while my IPA and various ales I prefer a bit colder.

[wortchillergoal]

I agree with all the temp talk. When I want my Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout on the sweet side I drink it chilled, for the roasted nut flavor it has to be warmer. I serve my beer in a glass delivered by a good looking blond or red-head.

[b3s]

Originally posted by wortchillergoal
I serve my beer in a glass delivered by a good looking blond or red-head.

i think i need to find out more about this! how do i get good looking blondes or redheads deliver my homebrew from the fridge to my chair?

:cool:

and can they mix martinis, too?

[wortchillergoal]

Originally posted by b3s
i think i need to find out more about this! how do i get good looking blondes or redheads deliver my homebrew from the fridge to my chair?

:cool:

and can they mix martinis, too?

See thread about best pick up lines

[b3s]

lol...for some reaon i now have a couple of black eyes and a loose tooth...must have been the beer ;)