Brits and your beer.

photogincollege · Dec 6, 2007

I was wondering if one of you over there "across the pond" as you say (he he) can tell me how you like your beer, cold or room temperature. For some reason i heard (cant remember where) that they serve it room temp over there.

Sideburns · Dec 6, 2007

I am not from there...but in Europe it depends where you go, and what beer it is.

I read up on that before too...

If someone from Britain can be more specific to THEIR country...then that'll help too I guess.

Here in Canada, we like our beer...WET...ahaha

lostprophet · Dec 7, 2007

frozen

*Knowledge* · Dec 7, 2007

I think in Germany they prefer room temp or warm glasses... something about the warm glasses releasing the flavor of the hops or whatever...

gizmo2071 · Dec 7, 2007

I like Guiness at room Temp, I think some of the real Ales taste nice at room temp aswell, but larger has to be cold.

LaFoto · Dec 7, 2007

Where did you gain that *knowledge* about Germans having their beer out of warmed glasses :shock: !?!? Ugh

ale:

I don't like it frozen (unlike our Lost Prophet :roll:

), nor very, very cold (the kind of cold Americans seem to like their pops, cokes, sodas, whatever is the word, for example), but not room temperature, either. It needs to feel cool and fresh in the throat!

Warmed glasses :shock:

uke: .................................................

ferny · Dec 7, 2007

I've never had a warm glass of beer in a pub. But then again, I am English and not British so don't know if I'm qualified to answer the question.

Lisa B · Dec 7, 2007

I live and work in a pub, which is owned by my mum, we serve all beers in bottles from the fridge and all beer on tap slightly chilled. Guiness is served EXTRA COLD and so is Carling!

If we served warm beer we would have no customers.

Arch · Dec 7, 2007

ewww warm glasses... iv had that before where they have just come out of the dishwasher... it was replaced by a nice cold one as soon as the barmaid realised the mistake

.... warm beer yuk.

Lisa B · Dec 7, 2007

We always stack the newly cleaned glasses at the back for that purpose...warm glasses make rank beer

Helen B · Dec 7, 2007

The traditional temperature for serving beer in England is at the natural temperature of a cellar (basement). That is around 11 degrees Celsius (52 deg F) in England, and it is fairly constant over the year if the cellar isn't heated or cooled. If you are used to chilled beer, cellar-temperature beer would indeed seem warm. Traditional beers aren't artificially carbonated or pressurised either - they are usually pulled up from an unpressurised* barrel or keg by a beer engine - a rudimentary hand pump. People used to drinking cold gassy beer therefore think that traditional English beer is warm and flat. Those of us who like traditional beer think that everything else is cold tasteless fizzy cat wee (no offence to cats, I hope). It is really quite simple.

Then there's all the marketing hype on both sides of the fence...

Best,
Helen

*The barrel is vented to atmosphere via a porous plug, so it is close to atmospheric pressure. The small amount of gas in the beer is what remains from fermentation. In the case of the very rare traditional bottled beers, the gas in the bottle is produced solely during secondary fermentation in the bottle, as is the yeast residue.

PS Please don't take the above too seriously.