# The best temperature to serve beer **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 14, 1999, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373 "1999-12-14T03:14:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/1 "1999-12-14T03:14:00Z")
Ice cold? Room temp? I prefer it to be taken out of the fridge or the ice for about 20 minutes myself. Does the style of beer make any difference? Being new here…forgive me if this has been covered. * * * If you can’t convince them, confuse them. Harry S. Truman ---
**Author:** ![MrKnowItAll](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrknowitall/32/87_2.png) [@MrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/2 "1999-12-14T03:31:00Z")
I think it depends on the beer. Personally, if I’m drinking something domestic, I like it cold (though “ice cold” might be going a little too far). OTOH, if I’m drinking something like Guinness, I like it maybe a little cooler than room temp, but not so cold that condensation forms on the glass (or, god forbid, mug). But that’s just me. * * * Mr. K’s Link of the Month: [The Enchanted World of Rankin-Bass](http://www.rankinbass.com/) ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/3 "1999-12-14T03:35:00Z")
I like beer whatever the temperature. 🙂 Oh, the _beer_ temp. 40-45[sup]o[/sup]F. I like what Cliff Clavin said about drinking cold beer. He said some gobbledegook about how drinking it on a hot day does some important temperature balancing in the body. Then Diane asks, “Then why do you drink a _cold_ beer on a _cold_ day?” Cliff responded, “What else are ya gonna do with it?” ---
**Author:** ![Sake\_Samurai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sake\_Samurai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sake_Samurai)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/4 "1999-12-14T03:37:00Z")
Around room temp is best for most beers. Excessive cooling masks the nuances of flavor. Cheaper beers often hype up the “ice-cold” angle. Even the best beers lose 50% or more of their subtlety at 33 - 53 degrees F. I often drink porters and bocks at room temp. Hmm, this requires more experimentation (I’ve got a leftover 12 pack of Red Hook IPA from last night’s party and a clean mug)! ---
**Author:** ![Cap\_n\_Crude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Cap\_n\_Crude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cap_n_Crude)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/5 "1999-12-14T03:42:00Z")
Oh, it definitely depends on the beer. Take it from a connoisseur. Okay, I’m not a beer genius, but I’ve had many exotic brews and I can tell you that very few beers should be served ice-cold. A good rule of thumb is the darker the beer, the warmer you can drink it. The ones that are best cold are invariably the pale ales, pilsners, lagers, and the like – take 'em out of the fridge and pour them into a tall glass or frosted mug. Ambers of all sorts tend to be mellower and have a more complex taste, and should be cold, but not as cold as the above – lagers need to be crisp and bracing, but that frigid temp takes away from your ability to taste the variations in the darker beers and ales. Porters, stouts, barley wines, and any of the other opaque brews that stick to the inside of the glass need warmth, or they come off as bitter and coppery. Most are perfect at 55-60 degrees F. Some can be even warmer, as any pub-goer who’s had heated beer (I never have) can tell you. In the end though, the right temperature is the one you enjoy most. Buy a whole mess o’suds and experiment one weekend. If you like your ice beer (and I don’t mean Bud Ice) served at room temperature, you go right ahead. * * * –Da Cap’n “Playin’ solitaire 'til dawn With a deck of fifty-one.” ---
**Author:** ![PurpleCrackwhore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc348/32.png) [@PurpleCrackwhore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleCrackwhore)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/6 "1999-12-14T03:43:00Z")
I like my beer cold with wedge of lime in it. It sitting next to a pizza is always a plus! * * * I really try to be good but it just isn’t in my nature! ---
**Author:** ![Spiritus\_Mundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Spiritus\_Mundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiritus_Mundi)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/7 "1999-12-14T03:47:00Z")
Fruit in beer. That’s just wrong. * * * - The best lack all conviction The worst are full of passionate intensity. \* ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/8 "1999-12-14T04:56:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Fruit in beer. > > That’s just wrong. The origin of that, as I can remember, was about 25 years ago when Tecate started trying to crack the U.S. beer market on the college campuses as a “you can still walk” alternative to tequila shots. People “did up” Tecates w/the slice of lime and the salt sort of like a tequila shot. It was a few years yet before that crappy Corona breached the marketplace with the slice of lemon. And I’d been chewin’ on various German brews for a few years before waitresses started stickin’ lemons in some of them. I don’t know, maybe that was the German way. I doubt it. Anyway, on topic, when I have a choice I’ll drink most delectable beers just sub room temp (~50-55º), but if I’m in a driving situation I’ll drink wet air (BurpLite) as cold as they get it (no flavor to mask). ---
**Author:** ![Chrome\_Toaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Chrome\_Toaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chrome_Toaster)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/9 "1999-12-14T08:08:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I prefer it to be taken out of the fridge or the ice for about 20 minutes myself. I like to take the beer out of the cold source before drinking it, too. I don’t like it at room temp, though. I know it is the right temp for me to drink when it has just the right amount on condensation on the bottle (or can, if I am really desperate for that beer…) My SO thinks this is just awful, and only drinks ice cold brew. Why is it that warm beer seems to get you buzzed faster than cold? I theorize that since the beverage is closer to the body’s temperature, the alcohol is more easily assimilated into the blood, but that sounds like a load of crap to me. Room * * * “A slightly altered view of the world…” Chrome Toaster ---
**Author:** ![JBENZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b77776/32.png) [@JBENZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBENZ)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/10 "1999-12-14T10:16:00Z")
I make Black & Tans with Bass from the fridge and Guiness at room temp. Comes out perfect every time. * * * JB Lex Non Favet Delicatorum Votis ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/11 "1999-12-14T14:54:00Z")
I have friends that like to drink their beer colder than ice. They stick it in their freezer, and drink it when it’s slightly slushy. ---
**Author:** ![Anomaly22](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Anomaly22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anomaly22)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/12 "1999-12-14T16:09:00Z")
Any. ---
**Author:** ![Satan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/13 "1999-12-14T17:32:00Z")
Beer should be icy cold. There is, however, an exception… Guiness from the tap served warm - particularly in an Irish joint with folk music being played in the background - is heavenly. * * * Yer pal, Satan ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/14 "1999-12-14T19:22:00Z")
Toom temperature is not ideal if you live in Arizona. It should be as cool as the underground celler where the kegs are stored. ---
**Author:** ![JonF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@JonF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonF)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 1999, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/15 "1999-12-21T06:30:00Z")
Geez, I thought _everybody_ knows that the English drink beer warm because Lucas makes their refrigerators … (posted by one who often had to pull over to re-balance the carbs on the MGB-GT) * * * jrf ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 1999, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/16 "1999-12-20T19:04:00Z")
Teeth hurtin’ cold! ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 1999, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/17 "1999-12-21T00:16:00Z")
\>Around room temp is best for most beers. Excessive cooling masks the nuances of flavor. Cheaper beers often hype up the “ice-cold” angle.\< I think there are some beers where masking the nuances of flavor is a good thing-- if I’m drinking something awful I prefer the taste deadened, but a good beer is much more interesting only slightly cold. Fruit Does belong in some beers: lambics, for example. And a good lambic is very nice, much unlike Saxer’s execrable “lemon lager” which tastes like lemon Starburst candies (I’m not joking). If you haven’t tried it, don’t. ---
**Author:** ![dlv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dlv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dlv)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 1999, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/18 "1999-12-21T01:16:00Z")
The British don’t drink their beer “warm” as is sometimes alleged. They drink it (ale really) at room temperature. I tried it when I was in London and now I’m a convert. Of course that depends on the beer. Some kinds probably taste better very cold, so they numb down your taste buds. A former babysitter taught us the following (Eastern European) home remedy for sore throat: actually heat up the beer on a stove to warmer than body temperature. It worked! Further experiments showed that warm OJ worked even better (and tasted better, and could be given to the kids), and Chloraseptic is even better. ---
**Author:** ![beerman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85e7bf/32.png) [@beerman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beerman)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 1999, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/19 "1999-12-31T04:42:00Z")
Beer is a dish best served ice cold. It is very cold in space. Wait thats revenge… Beer is good,cold all the way to room temp. ---
**Author:** ![Freeze\_Frame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Freeze\_Frame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freeze_Frame)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 1999, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-temperature-to-serve-beer/12373/20 "1999-12-31T05:28:00Z")
Ice Ice cold is the best beer. But ya gotta have a hot tub going, some subtle light, and Britanny Spears playing full blast!