39-45 degrees Fahrenheit my ass.
I like my Guinness served at room temp.
Tastes sooo much better. I’ve heard that across the pond Guinness is served this way, too. Any Irish/Brit Dopes care to confirm or deny this rumour?
In England you usually get it at cellar temperature, but a fairly recent development is that a few pubs serve it cold, it may have a slightly differant formulation but since I don’t touch it I wouldn’t know.
“Room temperature” is good, assuming you’re in an Irish room.
The best pints I had in Ireland were definitely cool, if not chilled. When I was dressed comfortably in a flannel shirt, vest, and tweed jacket, not Bermuda shorts and a muscle shirt.
I have a similar complaint about red wines served at “room temperature.” They mean a “room” in a drafty French chateau, NOT an overheated American apartment. Try to serve me a glass of Medoc at 75 degrees, and I’m gonna sneak the bottle into the fridge for fifteen minutes.
In Ireland, it’s usually served cold, but not as cold as lager. In the case of draft Guinness, it tends to be difficult to control the size of the head if it’s not at least slightly below room temperature. In some (not many) pubs, they have a warm and a cold tap and people drink “half and half” which is well worth trying.
They have also introduced Guinness Cold Flow, which is 2 degrees colder and is aimed at the Summer market. In my view, this kills the taste and the traditional Guinness is far superior.