Serving Etiquette

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talleymonster

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I always have 6 22oz mugs in my freezer for brew. I bought a 4 pack of pilsner glasses today. I was just curious about the proper way to use them. Are they chilled, like beer mugs? Any do's and dont's for pilsner glasses?
 
[EAC voice]
Chilled beer glasses are for BMC served in bars where they don't know anything about beer. Store your mugs, pilsner galsses and whatever other glasswear you're using for beer at room temp.
[/EAC voice]
 
Bike N Brew said:
[EAC voice]
Chilled beer glasses are for BMC served in bars where they don't know anything about beer. Store your mugs, pilsner galsses and whatever other glasswear you're using for beer at room temp.
[/EAC voice]

I was waiting for that. :p The way I see it, do it how ever you like. Me ill keep my beer glasses out of the freezer.
 
My husband always drinks his beer in a frosted mug. Now, the cream ale is ok that way, but I almost cringe when he takes my good beer and does that! I drink my beer nearly warm- maybe 50 degrees or so.

Try it yourself- pour some in a frosted mug and some in a room temperature glass. Try them side by side- it's a big difference! Even on of my BMC friends (one of them loves Corona LIGHT!) tasted my cream ale out of my glass and said something like, "Wow this is really good!" and I pointed to their ice cold glass and told them they were drinking the same thing! I didn't convince him to drink all beer that way, but when we went over last weekend and he brought out the frozen mugs (I bring the beer), he gave me a warm glass!
 
I hate frozen (read frosted) mugs, but I don't have any problem with chilling glasses before serving. If the beer is kept at proper temp and the glassware is kept at room temp, it can easily warm a beer above where you want it.
Keeping them in the fridge might be better than the freezer, though.

Just my .02
 
talleymonster said:
wow. Don't I feel like an idiot. :eek:

Sorry, meant as humor! I pesonally don't like frosted glasses (for reasons Yoop explained much more eloquently), but far be it from me to tell you how to drink YOUR beer :mug:

Frosted mug, plastic cup, big-ass funnel...heck, pour it down the cleavage of an 18-yr-old virgin and drink it from her navel for all I care.
 
Bike N Brew said:
heck, pour it down the cleavage of an 18-yr-old virgin and drink it from her navel for all I care.
That's my preferred method of drinking! :rockin:
 
I'm with Yooper on this one. I always try to drink my beer a little warmer, especially since my favorite styles are usually English. The 45-55degF range works best for me. However, since I don't have a good temp controller on my beer fridge, I leave the glasses at room temp so that they can actually warm up the beer a little bit. Then all the wonderful flavors can come out! I got a Sam Adams at some Italian restaurant the other day that was slushy it was so cold. Even after waiting for a half hour it was so damn cold that it tasted like water. Eugh. No frosty mugs for me, unless I'm drinking soda.
 
Personally, I think it's best to keep your glasses at your beer serving temp. If you have room in your fridge, that will work out great. Some of the better bars have chillers that spray water into the glasses to match the temps, but just keeping them in the same place as the beer you're serving works just as well
 
Ideal would be to keep your serving glasses at the serving temp for your beer. However I don't have a separate fridge for beer so my beer is chilled to normal fridge temps. Pouring it into a room temp glass helps to bring the beer up to proper temps and release much more of the aroma and flavors I appreciate.
I think I may have to build up a modest collection of serving glassed so each style can be served in the proper glass. Ofcourse a mug or pint glass works pretty well too.
Craig
 
Yooper has my vote on this one. So many styles reveal tons of flavor when allowed to warm up a little. Never thought it would be good until I actually tried it. For most friends I don't insist they drink their beer like that. I simply comment on how great the beer happens to taste or what little subtle notes come off the beer if its let sit for a moment or two.
 
I also prefer my glasses cool to room temp for the good stuff - and icy cold for the BMC swill. Most of my non-brewing friends are of the frozen pint or mug variety. It's a slow process to educate the masses.
 
If your tongue and mouth are at about 98 degrees or so,
And your glass is about 75 degrees or so,
And your beer is refrigerated at 40 degrees or so,
Then the question should really be.....

Did you like the beer you just consumed or NOT???

We ALL hopefully know the answer.


:mug:
 
Another serving tip:
When serving a beer to someone else don't let them see you suck the foam off the top while you pour to fit more beer in the glass. Turn around while you do that:D
 
Yooper Chick said:
My husband always drinks his beer in a frosted mug. Now, the cream ale is ok that way, but I almost cringe when he takes my good beer and does that! I drink my beer nearly warm- maybe 50 degrees or so.

I've been trying to train myself to drink beer a little warmer lately. I've never gotten into freezing my glasses beforehand but I still like my beer pretty cold. I've experimented quite a bit this summer and I went from an extreme of 38-50 degrees, the warmest I can handle is about 45. then it just becomes really difficult to enjoy as much. I don't notice a difference in styles (where on style being warmer or colder) made a difference. Pretty much anything warmer than 45 was harder to drink.

So, to the poster, do anything you want, it is totally based on personal preferences. :rockin:
 
I learned that I like drinking my beer at room temperature because of too many samplings while I waited for it to carbonate. I still put them in the fridge though... eventually.

FSR402, I know what you mean about drinking beer out of cleavage. She HATES it when I do that with college chicks! Women these days:rolleyes:
 
I tend to talk too much while drinking with friends, so I'm always drinking warm beer... After 10 years, it's the only way I like it.
 
EdWort said:
I can't stand frosted mugs cause all the ice melts and waters down the beer.

Obviously you're drinking it too slowly

I love frosted mugs for some beers, when it freezes head of the beer you pour into a malted icee/slush puppy - man thats good.

Finish the beer up in like 30 seconds, and then there's some nice frosty beer snowcone left over - whats not to like about that ?

With two frosty mugs I can go through a 12 pack in 30-45 minutes on a hot day.

Granted I don't want to do that everyday, but on a hot day - you betcha!
 
Geeze I must be the only guy here who likes his beer cold! IPA, Red ales, porters, scotch ales, hefe's, belgian trippels, etc. I drink them all below 40º. My fridge is 37 and thats how I like my beer. Yes I like good beer. I don't really drink BMC much at all, can't remember the last time I had any in my fridge, but I like it COLD. When my beer warms up too much it gets too sweet and loses its refreshingness. (is that even a word?).
 
I dont like drinking out of frosted mugs. Even when its a BMC. that stuff is already lacking flavor and then add the palette numbing frosted mug, its like drinking water.
With good beer ill pour it nice and cool but drink it slow so it warms and other flavors start to show themselves as i drink it.
 
Rook said:
Geeze I must be the only guy here who likes his beer cold! ...
Yes. Yes you are.:D

I was a frosted glass guy for many, many years. But within the last 3-4 years, I began to see the light. I now only use a frosted glass if I am outdoors on an extremely hot day and I'm doing something that will require me to take infrequent sips of my beer. I usually like my beer ~45-49oF.
 
Rook said:
Geeze I must be the only guy here who likes his beer cold! When my beer warms up too much it gets too sweet and loses its refreshingness. (is that even a word?).
You're not the only one. There is SO MUCH more too good beer than just taste...half the pleasure is in the mouthfeel and refreshment. When it's warmer, beer doesn't do it for me...all the wonderful crispness is gone, and I'm left with an unbalanced, sticky, cloyingly sweet drink. Sorry, for me it's got to be cold and effervescent, it's a huge part of the experience. This is probably a big part of why I like strongly hopped ales...good beer should have enough flavor to stand up to the cold!

If I can help it, I never pour into a room temperature glass. I keep a few pint mugs tucked in the door shelves of my kegerator, which works well for most ales. Chilling the glass also helps compensate for that first pull on the tap that isn't quite as cold as those that follow. Lately I'm loving my double-walled Bodum glasses, they keep their contents cold a long time and allow me to enjoy my brew at a more civilized pace. (There is no condensation on the outside, which is also nice.) For light lagers, I do keep a glass or two in the freezer. The summer blonde ale I just tapped also works nicely in an extra cold glass.

The bottom line is that people should drink their beer in the manner they enjoy. :mug:
 
My fridge is currently set to 56 degrees. In general I like my beer damn near warm, almost the same temp as my tap water. There are some styles I like colder, but most of the ones I like best are good in the mid 50s.

I was at a restaurant today that gave me a frosted glass with a bottle of Sierra Nevada, and after I realized what I had been given I tracked down someone so I could swap it out for one of the glasses they had on the shelf.
 
Buford said:
I was at a restaurant today that gave me a frosted glass with a bottle of Sierra Nevada, and after I realized what I had been given I tracked down someone so I could swap it out for one of the glasses they had on the shelf.

I did the same thing at a bar I frequented for a couple weeks last month on the Eastern Shore of MD. The first time I had a Sierra, I couldn't figure out why it tasted so different. The second time I visited, I started insisting I be served a warm glass with my bottle. By the second week, they even remembered before I asked...

kvh
 
I like mine pretty cold, and won't usually pss up a frosted mug if I'm given one, but relaly only for the thinner styles. Beer with more mouthfeel and sweetness I prefer a bit warmer.

At home I just grab a glass out of the cupbaord. In the summer, I might put a mug in for a beer that stays cold longer.
 
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