Do i keep ale at room temperature or chilled?

General rule for me is the worse the taste, the lower the temperature. I find Hobbo a bit bleurgh, so always have it chilled to the max if I have to drink it.
 
When talking about wine and port the phrase room temperature goes back to before central heating when rooms were naturally colder. I would imagine the same applies to beer, it would have been stored in a cool room and served from there. I reckon anywhere between 8-15°C is acceptable. I couldn't drink ale at the 20°C my living room will be with the heating on in the winter, the taste would be too heavy on the palate.

I keep my home brew in the garage in a nice cool spot and it's normally about right.
 
One tip I have picked up along the way (my dad tastes and judges for pub of the year in Essex and Herts with CAMRA and some of it gets remembered), is that with bottle conditioned ones it is good to put them in the fridge for about half an hour before drinking as it helps settle the sediment and makes them pour clearer and better.

semi-pro waster said:
Ale tastes like coffee? Something has gone very, very wrong in your tastebuds or you drink the oddest coffee I've ever heard of.
Click to expand...

Probably a combination of the two. And a bottle of Snecklifter.

Feek said:

If you buy something marketed as 'pear cider'
Click to expand...


I've seen a couple of pear ciders at CAMRA festivals but never felt inclined to try ciders.
 
I can't tolerate Cider - although I can just about manage a pint of Old Rosie. For some reason the majority of mainsteam ciders remind me of oxidised or rotting apples but Old Rosie doesn't make me vomit but a pint is the closest I get to legally feeling stoned. It just leaves me dozy.

The funny thing is people look at he Ale section and go - what do I try???!!!??11?
Once away from the litres/hour production of many of the mainstream drinks you start finding lots of choice and differences.

If you like tap Guinness try their 7.4% foreign export. It's not as smooth, it's got a massive amount of taste compared to the standard draught and you'll probably only want one bottle to slowly work through at that ABV!

Wells' Banana Beer is great, although it's probably another just the one before it gets too much.

Careful of the lambics - most are sweetened syrup creations. You'll need to find a true cherry beer which is sour (but not nastily so). A very different taste.

If anything just pick up a couple for the week, next time try a different couple (try the stouts and lambics). Make a note of those you like and go from there.

Personally I'll drink them without cooling. I like Innis & Gunn without chilling too.
 
I generally chill my ales - just whack 'em in the fridge and work through them over the course of the next few hours.

When I'm grabbing some in Asda I'll normally go for Hobgoblin, Goliath, Banana Bread Beer and Bishop's Finger.

Not a fan of some of the darker/heavier ones, though. I like to straddle the middle somewhere -- not too light/floral, and a nice nutty finish.
 
Pestilence said:
I generally chill my ales - just whack 'em in the fridge and work through them over the course of the next few hours.

When I'm grabbing some in Asda I'll normally go for Hobgoblin, Goliath, Banana Bread Beer and Bishop's Finger.

Not a fan of some of the darker/heavier ones, though. I like to straddle the middle somewhere -- not too light/floral, and a nice nutty finish.
Click to expand...

I usually go for the 3 for £4 and I find that my newest selection is gobgoblin, Newcastle brown ale and deuchars IPA
 
^Good :)

Now get yourself a selection and try some more. I go by the rule "the more colourful the label, the nicer it'll taste", which isn't really true but it's a good starting point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom