Beer Temperature

Whilst there’s nothing a beer drinker prefers more than a “cold one” when he’s feeling thirsty, how cold does he want it?  There’s a perception out there that states “the colder the better”, which is driven by the breweries and their marketers, who have their own reasons for pushing this angle.

These reasons are based on taste; alcoholic beverages are not – and never will be – as tasty or as satiable as a can of soda; there’s harshness to a beer which isn’t replicated in soda.  However, the coldness of the beer tends to numb the senses in the mouth to dilute this initial rough taste, which explains the brewers’ reasoning.  The motives behind the profligate consumption of beer aren’t because of its worldly flavour, and you don’t continue to drink copious amounts of it because your taste-buds are chomping at the bit for more.  No, there are other demons at work there! 

Cider is a popular drink in very hot weather, yet it can have a particularly caustic edge to it when served neat.  It’s not uncommon to see drinkers fill up their glasses with cubes of ice in an effort to keep the drink as cool as possible.  As the ice melts into the cider, a combination of the icy temperature and the dilution takes some of the bite off the actual drink and makes it more pleasurable for a lot of people.  This is certainly a case of when we prefer it ice-cold.

However, Guinness – the popular Irish brand of stout – intimate that their normal pint of draught should be served at 42.8°F, whilst their “Extra-cold” alternative should be served at 36.6°F, which is very close to freezing.  Guinness has tried various gimmicks in the recent past to try to entice its customers to make the switch from lager to their product, but apart from the early novelty, it has been a failure.  Some bars in Dublin, Ireland would only serve this “extra-cold” stuff for a period, before realising what their hardcore fans really wanted; a normal pint at a normal temperature.

Budweiser launched their “ice-cold” draught in 2009, where the tap on the counter is actually frosting perpetually.  They say that the drink is served at 1°C (34°F), which is about 10°C cooler than the recommended temperature, which is half way between “ice-cold” and room temperature (21°C).  It stays cooler than a normal beer for 17 minutes longer, until they eventually plateau at room temperature.  An advertisement on television shows a punter going up to the bar with over-gloves on to fetch his pint.

And so, the controversy rages about the best temperature for beer.  At the end of the day, it’s a subjective case.  Why do we all prefer different types of beer? - Because they all affect our senses in different ways.  Budweiser and Guinness have alternate types for individuals who prefer a more traditional temperature, whilst cider breweries focus on bottling their produce, so the punter himself can arbitrate the temperature of his drink