Serving Temperatures

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tbone0n74

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Howdy all... I'm new to brewing, and just kegged my first batch - a Wheat Beer. Without tooting my horn too much, it's just about the best beer I've ever tasted. That said, I'm always looking to improve, and noticed that the beer actually tasted much better after it warmed up some. Right now, my kegerator is set at about 38. Is this too cold? Just curious if one of you had the "magic number" for serving a wheat beer.

Cheers.:mug:
 
personal preference, but anywhere from 36-44 degrees. just be sure to adjust your tap
pressure, the warmer the keg, the lower the tap pressure. thisll keep the carbonation in, and that can affect mouthfeel and flavor as well.
 
ive found that 36 seems to work well for me on all my brews. i like beer to be right at the point at which it freezes, but you cant do that when serving from a tap.
 
37F is perfect for me. It's cold enough for the lighter styles, but warm enough that you don't have to wait long for a pint of stout to warm up. SWMBO likes the beer super cold, so I got her some ice mugs to keep in the freezer. A minute in those and there is a good layer of slush on top.
 
Since I am originally from England, the perfect temp for my beer is fresh from the basement/cellar at about 50-55deg F! I find that any warmer and they have too much head and in a fridge they develop a chill haze and not much head.
 
well i like my homebrews to be at about 36F, but when i drink commercial piss water, just about freezing works. sorry i didnt clarify that.
 
My Ranco on the Keezer has been set at 42 since the day it was plugged in.... I call it perfect.
 
Since I am originally from England, the perfect temp for my beer is fresh from the basement/cellar at about 50-55deg F! I find that any warmer and they have too much head and in a fridge they develop a chill haze and not much head.

I totally agree here, even being from the south US (where people love their ice and sweet tea). I prefer to drink all my beers at 50 degrees or slightly above. I just like the malt flavors better at this temp. I also hate the chill haze :p
Cheers!
 
Guess I should have also mentioned that I keep my pilsner glasses in the Kegerator as well. Is this not a good thing? I have started slowly bringing the temperature up though. I'm all for cold beer on a hot day, but don't want to sacrifice taste for temperature.
 
personal preference, but anywhere from 36-44 degrees. just be sure to adjust your tap
pressure, the warmer the keg, the lower the tap pressure. thisll keep the carbonation in, and that can affect mouthfeel and flavor as well.

The co2 will dissolve into the beer easier at colder temperatures. So for warmer serving temperatures, you want to increase the pressure to maintain carbonation. From there, you may have to increase the beer line length to provide the restriction necessary to prevent excessive foaming.

There are tons of carbonation charts out there to help in matching the desired carbonation level, serving temperature and dispensing pressure.

Here is one: Carbonation Table - Kegerators.com
 
My kegerator is set for 39. I'm usually fairly slow drinking my beer so by the end it's warmed up nicely. The flavor progression of a beer as it warms is an amazing process.
 
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