I was thinking about how the English are criticized for drinking warm beer… are the French criticised for drinking red wine which has been brought to room temperature? Doesn’t the idea of chilling a really decent red appal? I know there are red wines which can be chilled, and so there are beers which are brewed to be served chilled…. but there are so many more beers which should be served at a temperature which will bring out all the lovely flavours and depths of flavour.
The ideal temperature, actually for many beers is not the ambient room temperature, but the cellar temperature which is about 12º-14°C, I say ‘many’ beers because there are some which are specially brewed to be drunk at different temperatures, and I’m not talking about the lower-end of the market beers which are served chilled to disguise the lack of flavour. For example the wonderful Tarka, a lager beer carefully brewed by Otter Brewery, has been designed to be drunk at a lower refreshing temperature and still keep its wonderful flavours and ‘nose’.
There are, beers which can be served at all sorts of temperatures, and I quote from a 2005 post on ratebeer.com:
- Cold (4-7C/39-45F): , Premium Lager, Pilsner, Classic German Pilsner, Belgian White, American Dark Lager, Duvel-types
- Cool (8-12C/45-54F): Porter, Belgian Ale, Bohemian Pilsner, Irish Ale,
- Cellar (12-14C/54-57F): Bitter, Premium Bitter, Brown Ale, India Pale Ale, English Pale Ale, English Strong Ale, Old Ale, Abbey Dubbel, Belgian Strong Ale, English-style Cider
- Warm (14-16C/57-61F): Barley Wine, Imperial Stout, Imperial/Double IPA, Mead
- Hot (70C/158F): Liefmans Glühkriek, dark, spiced winter ales
- http://www.ratebeer.com/Story.asp?StoryID=479
If you visit a good English pub, for example, The Dolphin in Uphill, and you ask for a pint of bitter, you will have an exceptionally fine-brewed and well-kept pint, at the correct temperate – please don’t think it is ‘warm’, just enjoy the nose, the flavours, the sheer quality of English beer!
Lois Elsden 
Funnily enough we were talking about this yesterday. I asked whether beer was ever served with ice. After shuddering somewhat at the very idea mick replied that some beers are sometimes served cold from the fridge, but never with ice . His preference is for cellar temperature as it gives a better flavour.
I don’t tend to drink beer, but do enjoy a shandy in hot weather, made with lager which I like cold
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Yes, cellar temperature… ideal!
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Forgive me, but I am wearing my pedant’s hat. If bière is feminine shouldn’t chambré have an “e” on the end making it chambrée?
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Forgive me, but I am wearing my pedant’s hat. If bière is feminine shouldn’t it have an “e” on the end for agreement, i.e, “chambrée”?
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Darn it! I checked it all so carefully! Well done, I love pedants! Merci bien!
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De rien!
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Sorry I posted that last one twice, but yet again I got a message to say the first one hadn’t worked, only to find when I posted again that the original one was there!
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Never mind…!
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Lois, We are looking for the TARKA beer and the TARKA glasses. Please inform us where we can order these items. We have an upcoming party at our company and we want to serve this beer. see our company http://www.tarka-systems.nl
Thanks for your help
Henry Wijgerse
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Henry, the beer is made by Otter Brewery: http://www.otterbrewery.com/
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