isn't 38 F too cold for serving?

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twd000

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I have noticed with many "finer" beers that serving them slightly warmer than fridge temp (say 45 - 50 F) tends to "open up" a lot of more complex flavors. Especially on heavily hopped IPAs like Sierra Nevada Torpedo, for instance. I have seen several official-looking references insisting that beer be shipped and served at 38 degrees. I can understand storing and shipping colder for preservation, but isn't that too cold for enjoying the full flavors when serving?
 
Yes, anything warmer will open up and give you truer flavors than when its cold. I just serve all my beers at 40F from my taps and let them naturally warm up a few in the glass. Not everyone likes warmer beer, so I prefer to do it this way to please others who drink from my taps when they come over. A lot easier to warm it up in the glass than to cool it down.
 
Yes, anything warmer will open up and give you truer flavors than when its cold. I just serve all my beers at 40F from my taps and let them naturally warm up a few in the glass. Not everyone likes warmer beer, so I prefer to do it this way to please others who drink from my taps when they come over. A lot easier to warm it up in the glass than to cool it down.

This.

Some beers are better a little colder.

I like to pour cold, and let the aroma and flavor "evolve" as the pint warms. Each sip is a little different.
 
What do you all typically do when you are lagering with your keezer? Give your beer a few minutes to warm up once it is exposed to room temperature? Or just drink it cold?
 
I also serve at 40° and pour into a room temp glass as well, my friend likes his beers colder, (like 36°) I use his Kegerator to do my lagering :D Then I bring the cornys back to my place to serve them as needed, he has space for 9 cornys, I get 3 spots over there in exchange for his use of my mill.
 
I too have reevaluated my kegerator temps and recently moved up from 38F to 40F and will likely move up to 42F with the next keg swap. I probably won't go much warmer than this, because cold beer does stay cool longer if you happen to be drinking a little slower.
 
I haven't actively monitored the temperature of the beer, in my fridge. Some beers I prefer ice cold though and in some cases, between the fridge temp and the chilled glasses in the freezer, we get little ice crystals in the beer. Typically though the beer does sit in the glass for a few before drinking.

Now you all have me curious. I bet my girlfriend asks me why I'm drinking beer with a thermometer sticking out of it tonight...
 
I've really started noticing this more recently, maybe my palate is improving? I had a Red Rocket Ale right out of the fridge the other day and thought something was wrong with it. As it warmed up I suddenly was getting the flavors I expected.

I've also got my keezer at 40F. I think it's cold enough at that temp that you can be satisified with a cold beer, like a light lager, right from the tap, but not so cold that it takes too long for a more robust beer to warm up to an appropriate temperature.
 
When I first set up my keezer I had it at 37F. After a few months of that I started to dial it back to finally settling on 45F. Even that is a bit cold, but I let the beer warm in the glass.

The absolute worst thing about bars/pubs/restaurants is that most of them serve way too cold and I have to let the beer sit until the food shows up.
 
I keep my beer at 45 degrees so that when it is poured into a pint glass, the drinking temp is about 48 which is perfect for me.
 
Mine are served anywhere from 32°F to 55°F depending if I am lagering or primarying alongside the keg.

55° beer is much better than 32° beer.
 
I just wait until the mountains turn blue then I kno... I mean I keep it on the colder side at 3.5C, but I also use it for yeast cold storage and I'd rather it be closer to freezing. I don't have a problem letting a glass sit for a few minutes before taking the first sip though.
 
I recently had the unfortunate responsibility of setting up a beer fridge for a friend's bar. The fridge supplier, distributors, bartenders, etc. all rallied against me and convinced them to pour at 38F. I managed to talk them up... to 39F. *sigh*
 
I set mine at 38* for a few reasons. I dont ever drink more than a glass or two at time typically, so by the time the stuff in the lines gets out, then the cold stuff hits the faucets and warms up from that and the warm glass, its well into the 40's. Second is I store my washed and slanted yeast in that keezer. Like someone else said, its way easier to warm up a beer than cool it down.
 
so I'm hearing an consensus that something warmer than 38 F is ideal. I just read an article by Mr Ray Daniels himself who made the statement that "most draft systems operate at 38 F". He expanded by saying that beer served as warm as only 48 F will be way too foamy since it was likely carbed @ 38 F at the brewery.

So I guess homebrewers have the option to carb at their desired serving temperature, vs. a bar who must serve at 38, even though it is less-than-ideal flavor-wise?
 
I have my serving freezer set to 38F, but very little of the beer i drink from it is at 38F. By the time it's in the glass it's over 40F and 2 or 3 sips in it's closer to 50F. Especially in AZ heat.

Bars normally don't have multiple serving temps. and I'm sure they mostly go as cold as they can for serving BMC (80% of their sales).
 
I lager and store yeast in mine as well so I just let mine warm in the glass like everyone else. To the guy with the chilled glasses. Doesn't the ice floating in your beer (not to mention watering it down) annoy you? I refuse to use chilled glasses under any circumstance.
 
I keep mine at 38 as well. Partly because I built the keezer pre-hombrewing, meaning I had Coors on tap and I don't want to tweak it now, but also because I don't pour from it everyday. However, I now know to let my beer naturally warm up once in the glass which not only helps understanding the subtle nuances in the beer, but also slows consumption rate.
 
beer served as warm as only 48 F will be way too foamy since it was likely carbed @ 38 F at the brewery.

If you wish to serve it at a warmer temperature, you need only use the chart to figure out what higher pressure it will need to be served at. Note: If you use higher pressures you may need extended beer lines to slow the flow. Fast beer flow also equals foam. 7' of beer line seems to handle up to 15psi for my setup. It's all beer-physics.

my beer fridge's dial only goes up to 8, you guys have way better coolers than mine.

Mine is just a mini fridge, outfitted with a thermal controller, because I was pulling my hair out with foaming issues in the past.
 
Doesn't beer stay fresher longer if it's stored cold? I agree some beers like IPAs taste better a bit warmer... but for storage/freshness/longevity purposes I think colder is better.
 
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