[erockrph]

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.

For me, it's not that I haven't given a thought at all on serving temperature, but like a lot of other variables we have available, once I had my preferred setting dialed in on my kegerator it stays locked in on it. It is rare for me to have a style on tap that doesn't work at the temp setting I use, and I can just let it warm up for a few minutes if it works better for the beer. Another trick is to run my glass under warm water for a bit before pouring; sort of the reverse of what happens when a restaurant serves beer in a frozen glass.

[fredthecat]

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.

i kind of agree with you, less about homebrew scale and more about craft beer bars. im paying for the value-addition of service/packaging (a glass/mug), so i would expect more care than if you asked a random person on the street to do it. but what i have encountered in my extensive total, but limited recent history of ordering a beer is that bartenders are rarely trained well/simply don't care/do some single serving temp for convenience(targeting BMC drinkers) and I sort of expect too cold of a pour.

I can't think of a worse beer experience at a bar than both way overcarbonated and way too cold. It was something i would encounter a LOT in Korea.

So in terms of ordering a beer at the bar, it is fairly under-considered in that I feel bartenders generally do not bother/understand (could be either) serving temp of beers - assuming that "hey it comes out of the keg and its cold" is good enough.

on the homebrew level, IMHO it is totally up to however you want it. lol i dont care how you drink your beer.

[narvin]

The other thing is that we all experience the same beer at many different temperatures, as we drink it, and if you have a curious mind and think like a brewer you pay attention to how it warms.  The same goes for a glass of whiskey. So I'm less concerned with having it come out at the perfect temperature since it's not going to stay at that temperature anyway.  I will still aim to start at a warmer temperature for different types of beers, but it's a continuum versus a fixed variable that is set once the brew is done.

[Megary]

The other thing is that we all experience the same beer at many different temperatures, as we drink it, and if you have a curious mind and think like a brewer you pay attention to how it warms.  The same goes for a glass of whiskey. So I'm less concerned with having it come out at the perfect temperature since it's not going to stay at that temperature anyway.  I will still aim to start at a warmer temperature for different types of beers, but it's a continuum versus a fixed variable that is set once the brew is done.

I had recently made a Vanilla Stout that, at first taste, I had to squint to find any vanilla.  As the beer warmed, didn't that vanilla come shining through...

Good discussion.

[ynotbrusum]

I have some finicky friends, so to accommodate everyone, I keep the serving fridge at 34F, then I pour into small plastic pitchers to serve beer.  One pitcher will sit out in ambient temperature and one will go on a "blue ice" block in a small cooler.  I tend to drink from the warmer pitcher and the BMC crowd goes for the chilled beer.  I serve mostly lagers, but occasionally a bitter or stout or specialty beer.  Those latter beers definitely get the warm up treatment.

[erockrph]

The other thing is that we all experience the same beer at many different temperatures, as we drink it, and if you have a curious mind and think like a brewer you pay attention to how it warms.  The same goes for a glass of whiskey. So I'm less concerned with having it come out at the perfect temperature since it's not going to stay at that temperature anyway.  I will still aim to start at a warmer temperature for different types of beers, but it's a continuum versus a fixed variable that is set once the brew is done.

Spirits are a great analogy. As my ice melts as slowly starts to dilute the rum/whiskey/tequila/etc., different flavors open up. The evolution over time is part of the experience.

There is a difference between beer and straight spirits in that there is a thirst-quenching aspect to the beer drinking experience as well (especially at the 4% ABV range that most of my brews target nowadays). This is why starting a bit lower in temperature works best for me. Those first gulps really hit the spot when cold, and then I can settle in and enjoy the nuances.

[ExtractDoug]

Question(s):  Does my Final Gravity affect whether my Dry Hops will precipitate out of my beer or stay stuck floating at the top?   Or does it depend on the type of hop?
I especially seem to notice it when dry hopping with non-cryo Citra pellets; I have a dense layer of hop particulates floating, and they love to rain-down when transferring to the bottling bucket.

-Doug

[hopfenundmalz]

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.

For Style like the Porter I will use hot water to rinse my glass when making it beer clean.

[neuse]

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)?

Until about a year ago, I was one of those you are referring to - just served out of the fridge. Then I tried letting the bottle warm up before opening and found I like it much better if it sits 20-30 minutes to warm up first. It turns out, I like just about all craft beer warmer. (I never checked the temperature - I will one of these days.) At Christmas I got some mugs that hold two 12 oz bottles. I do the same with these, but a once I forgot to set the bottles out ahead of time. It was really interesting to taste the beer getting better and better as I drank it and it warmed up.

[deckerhand]

Being how brew in a bag sells bag for both the anvil foundry and the mash and boil system do you feel it helps more or hurts more, and why ?


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[brewthru]

Ask anything? OK. When are Denny and Drew going to come over and brew at my brewhouse 

[denny]

Ask anything? OK. When are Denny and Drew going to come over and brew at my brewhouse 

Where do you live?

[purduekenn]

Being how brew in a bag sells bag for both the anvil foundry and the mash and boil system do you feel it helps more or hurts more, and why ?


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I did my first brew day with the Anvil Foundry 10.5 system last week using the BIAB bag from my 10gallon brew kettle. I put the bag in the basket and gained a little efficiency but it was a small difference. It wasn't the right size for the basket but it worked ok. I think the small efficiency gain was from recirculating the mash and sparging. I just received the basket BIAB bag for the Anvil system. I want to use the basket with the bag and let it drain before lifting it out. I think it will be less prone to drip wort on the Anvil than using just a bag without the basket. The basket bag is 400 microns and is well made. I also think using the basket and bag will make it easier to clean the system after brewing.

[Andy Farke]

I also think using the basket and bag will make it easier to clean the system after brewing.

Based on over a year of experience with a basket+bag setup, I heartily agree with this statement! Bag and basket clean up in a minute or two, with just a bit of water and scrubbing.

[narvin]

For me, the bag helped prevent sticking during recirculation because the hole size of the grain basket was perfect for the football shaped ends of the malt kernel to plug.  It looks like they've redesigned the basket to have a slotted bottom on the newest systems so that might not be a problem anymore.