[Megary]

I hate to poke the bear, but Pumpkin beer is a novelty I like.

On a trip to Easton PA last summer, I had a Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale right off the bottling line.  Have to admit, it was really tasty. A good beer is a good beer.

[denny]

I hate to poke the bear, but Pumpkin beer is a novelty I like.

On a trip to Easton PA last summer, I had a Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale right off the bottling line.  Have to admit, it was really tasty. A good beer is a good beer.

Maybe it's more "a beer I like is a beer I like " and not get into value judgements

[Megary]

I hate to poke the bear, but Pumpkin beer is a novelty I like.

On a trip to Easton PA last summer, I had a Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale right off the bottling line.  Have to admit, it was really tasty. A good beer is a good beer.

Maybe it's more "a beer I like is a beer I like " and not get into value judgements

Yep.  Absolutely.  Poor choice of words on my part because not getting into value judgements is what I’ve been arguing this whole time.

[kgs]

I hate to poke the bear, but Pumpkin beer is a novelty I like.

apparently pumpkin was used as a fermentable to save on grain early in the history of america. https://patriot.shieldrepublic.com/thank-the-pilgrims-for-pumpkin-beer/

so its "traditional" 

Pumpkin is traditional but pumpkin pie spice is definitely new!

As a librarian, this pulled me down a happy rabbit hole on a day when I needed to be doing other things. :-)  It appears that in colonial times, once spice tariffs and taxes were relaxed, spices we associate with "pumpkin spice" became more available. I didn't have the time today to do the research on whether these spices were then used with pumpkin in a way we would think of as "pumpkin spice." To be continued.

[HighVoltageMan!]

I hate to poke the bear, but Pumpkin beer is a novelty I like.

On a trip to Easton PA last summer, I had a Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale right off the bottling line.  Have to admit, it was really tasty. A good beer is a good beer.

Maybe it's more "a beer I like is a beer I like " and not get into value judgements

What's wrong with calling a good beer a good beer. I have had some sours that were well made. I hate sours, but I had to admit it was good. I can't stand pumpkin or peanut butter beers, but I know when I've tasted a well made beer. Nothing wrong with the beer, I just don't like it.

[Megary]

I hate to poke the bear, but Pumpkin beer is a novelty I like.

On a trip to Easton PA last summer, I had a Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale right off the bottling line.  Have to admit, it was really tasty. A good beer is a good beer.

Maybe it's more "a beer I like is a beer I like " and not get into value judgements

What's wrong with calling a good beer a good beer. I have had some sours that were well made. I hate sours, but I had to admit it was good. I can't stand pumpkin or peanut butter beers, but I know when I've tasted a well made beer. Nothing wrong with the beer, I just don't like it.

There's nothing wrong with it of course, especially if you can be disciplined enough to keep personal bias out of the equation. That's not as easy as it sounds.  Most of the time people will just dump on this or that ONLY because of personal bias.  The point being, that we all have different tastes, and taste is so subjective.

[dbeechum]

Last call for questions, y'all!

[reverseapachemaster]

Last call for questions, y'all!

How dare you?

[Megary]

Last call for questions, y'all!

Why do we spend so much time agonizing over grain bills, hop schedules, yeast types, fermentation schedules, clarity, transfers and carbonation levels...and yet almost always serve our beer at the wrong temperature (too cold)?

[denny]

Last call for questions, y'all!

Why do we spend so much time agonizing over grain bills, hop schedules, yeast types, fermentation schedules, clarity, transfers and carbonation levels...and yet almost always serve our beer at the wrong temperature (too cold)?

Personal preference.  The same reason we do all those other things.

[Megary]

Last call for questions, y'all!

Why do we spend so much time agonizing over grain bills, hop schedules, yeast types, fermentation schedules, clarity, transfers and carbonation levels...and yet almost always serve our beer at the wrong temperature (too cold)?

Personal preference.  The same reason we do all those other things.

If the answer was that simple, fine.  But I don't think it is.

People serve at certain temperatures more out of convenience and not based on any personal experiments they may have run.  I'm sure you are the exception, but how many people have tried all the different beers they make at various temperatures to see which they prefer?  And do they adjust their frig/keezer temp based on what's inside, even if its two or three completely different styles?  I don't think so.  Nothing wrong with that of course, just saying that convenience is making this decision and not personal preference.

[erockrph]

Last call for questions, y'all!

Why do we spend so much time agonizing over grain bills, hop schedules, yeast types, fermentation schedules, clarity, transfers and carbonation levels...and yet almost always serve our beer at the wrong temperature (too cold)?

Personal preference.  The same reason we do all those other things.

If the answer was that simple, fine.  But I don't think it is.

People serve at certain temperatures more out of convenience and not based on any personal experiments they may have run.  I'm sure you are the exception, but how many people have tried all the different beers they make at various temperatures to see which they prefer?  And do they adjust their frig/keezer temp based on what's inside, even if its two or three completely different styles?  I don't think so.  Nothing wrong with that of course, just saying that convenience is making this decision and not personal preference.

Convenience is also a primary driving factor in my choice of grain bills, hop schedules, yeast types, fermentation schedules, clarity, transfers and carbonation levels. I guess my personal preference is convenience.

[Megary]

Last call for questions, y'all!

Why do we spend so much time agonizing over grain bills, hop schedules, yeast types, fermentation schedules, clarity, transfers and carbonation levels...and yet almost always serve our beer at the wrong temperature (too cold)?

Personal preference.  The same reason we do all those other things.

If the answer was that simple, fine.  But I don't think it is.

People serve at certain temperatures more out of convenience and not based on any personal experiments they may have run.  I'm sure you are the exception, but how many people have tried all the different beers they make at various temperatures to see which they prefer?  And do they adjust their frig/keezer temp based on what's inside, even if its two or three completely different styles?  I don't think so.  Nothing wrong with that of course, just saying that convenience is making this decision and not personal preference.

Convenience is also a primary driving factor in my choice of grain bills, hop schedules, yeast types, fermentation schedules, clarity, transfers and carbonation levels. I guess my personal preference is convenience.

Ok.  But how much time have you spent considering serving temperature and how much time have you spent considering all of the other things?  I'm not saying they all deserve the same attention, but surely serving temperature is vastly under-considered in the grand scheme of things.

Or maybe it isn't.  Whatever.

[narvin]

You're implying that the thought has never crossed my mind.    I consider serving temperature but it's easily rectified with a little patience.  If I have a Belgian strong dark and a Pilsner in the same kegerator, I'll pour the Belgian beer and just wait a few minutes for it to warm up.

Given that I'm not running a bar with high turnover, I also want to make sure my beer storage is a good as possible to keep things fresh. In this case, colder is better. I'd rather pour at 40 and give it a minute to warm up.  A room temperature glass does some of that work for me.

[Megary]

You imply that the though has never crossed my mind.    I consider serving temperature but it's easily rectified with a little patience.  If I have a Belgian strong dark and a Pilsner in the same kegerator, I'll pour the Belgian beer and just wait a few minutes for it to warm up.

Given that I'm not running a bar with high turnover, I also want to make sure my beer storage is a good as possible to keep things fresh. In this case, colder is better. I'd rather pour at 40 and give it a minute to warm up.  A room temperature glass does some of that work for me.

Thanks for that answer.  And I didn't mean to imply that no one is giving any thought "at all" to serving temperature, just that convenience, for the most part, is making the big decision here, and not necessarily the ideal temperature of the beer based on style.  Again, there's nothing wrong with that and your workaround is, I would assume, pretty typical for most homebrewers.  I currently have an IPA and English Porter on tap, both kegs sitting in the same frig at the same temp (41°).  I definitely prefer the Porter at a warmer temperature, but since I find it easier to default to the style I prefer colder, what am I going to do?  If I only had the Porter in there, I certainly would change the temp setting. 

And maybe some drinkers like all styles at the same temperature, that's cool too.