What a difference 10 degrees makes!
As Minnesotans, we know something about temperature, right? If you’re like me, you wore a down parka to work yesterday and a sweatshirt to the gym this afternoon. Those temperature swings make a big difference!
I know that serving temperature makes a difference for beer, too. The point was driven home for me recently: I’ve got a 12-pack of Schell’s Caramel Bock in my fridge (while actually fridge #3, but who’s counting?). It was humming along at refridgerator temp, so I suppose about 40F. I pulled a Caramel Bock out and tasted it: not bad — crisp and clean like a lager should be. I hint of nuttiness; fine, but maybe not everything I’d hoped for.
Fast forward a couple of weeks: I brew a lager that needs to be fermented at 50F, so I set my after-market temperature controller and let ‘er rip. I go to get a Bock the next day, and it’s a whole different beer. Still crisp in the finish but with substantially more malt, nutty with more pronounced walnut and caramelly too. It feels fuller-bodied on the palate. And, I now sense just a hint of alcohol warmth.
Not everyone would think the temperature increase is an improvement, but I do – big time.
So, try the experiment at home. If you’re not sitting on three fridges and a temp. controller, try taking a beer out of the fridge before you open it. Then, compare it to one that’s been in the cold longer. Or, put your palm in serious contact with your glass; notice how the beer changes as you progress through the beer and it gets warmer.
As it is in the Minnesota outdoors, so it is with beer: a few degrees makes a big difference!
