does chilling beer "change" flavour?

Does anyone else agree with the statement that chilling your brew "changes" the flavour??

More than anything, it changes our perception of the flavor. Certain subtleties are hidden by cold temperatures, as flavor and aroma uptake are subdued.

There are some other minor physical changes as well; given enough time, yeast will flocculate out a little bit more and CO2 will dissolve at a higher level, which IMO make the beer taste cleaner and crisper.


So yes, chilled beer is definitely different in taste, but I'd say more of that comes from our palates' perception than an actual change in the beer itself.

I've heard and tend to agree that arctic chills can dull flavors. There was some unenthusiastic talk about good beer served in frozen mugs at commercial joints in a post recently. I don't however believe chilling or cooling would cause any permanent flavor changes. Unless you are cold conditioning but that is a different story.

The best way is what I did.

I took 2 of the same porters. Let one sit on the counter til it got around 48-50 degree. Then got one straight out of the fridge. The warmer one had way more fruity, blended taste. The colder was more earthy and harsh on the back end. Then take a natty light, cold it is crisp and clean, warm it is just plain funky.

Bottle conditioning and lagering with time will change beer perception with the same beer, in my experience it constantly evolves . As does warming your beer when drinking at certain temps. And adding the yeast at the bottem will shurely change the taste of it. I would drink that seperate though mainly just for health benefits not taste.