To chill or not to chill

[cask is best]

A few threads I have read on here about chilled beer and peoples reaction that it prompted me to start this one.

I use to chill most of my beers up until around several years ago when I found that room temp or just below actually made the beer taste better. You could actually taste the hops, fruit, or caramel flavours that just are not there with chilled beers.

One thing that has got me puzzled thou is. Beers such as Guinness you can buy it now even extra cold. I have had Guinness from the garage at about 20c and although it was a can of original it tasted very nice so why does a successful company like Guinness sell it chilled. Surly a warmer Guinness does have more taste. Same goes for Murphy's and other stout makers.

 

[pittsy]

If possible around 10/12c is ideal for me unless a lager then a bit cooler .

 

[supersteve]

Probably just because the majority of people wouldn't want to walk into a pub and get a warm beer, I bet they saw a spike in prices when they introduced cold beers. :hmm:

 

[cask is best]

Wouldn't call it warm supersteve more like the correct temp. I use a pub which has won camra pub of the year in my neck of the woods and is always there or there abouts year on year. It has its own micro attached and the bitter is served at room temperature and you can really taste and smell the quality of the ale.
Walk five minutes down the road and get a cold pint of cask and it's tasteless. One reason I stopped using the latter.

 

[supersteve]

I am in no arguments in this regard, I too live around some fantastic brewery pubs. Nottingham camra beer festival is the most popular festival in the UK apparently :drunk:

But I was just suggesting that the masses that purchase the cold beers wouldn't drink them if they were warmer, so it makes financial sense. :whistle:

 

[graysalchemy]

Plus the fact that they have next to no hops or flavour to them so they tell you it is best to serve them cold so you don't notice, as you mind is occupied with brain freeze :lol: :lol:

 

[cask is best]

What about the opening post then. Guinness is very tasty at room temperature but they say it's best served chilled. Confused . com . That I am

 

[graysalchemy]

Guinness over that last 10 years has had less and less flavour. Last time i had a pint I was very disappointed, in fact the last time I had a point i was so disappointed I switched over to Thwaites smouthflow and that had more flavour (yes yes I know I was at the local sports club bar, no draught ale and selection of whisky was even worse) .

It has no hop bitterness or bitterness from the dark grains. Guinness again is now just trading on its name it is truly Guinnless, it is now a vague shaddow of its former self. Shame on you Diageo.

 

[cask is best]

Good point re trading on name brand only. Would also agree itddoesn't taste like it use to.
My last was also at a sports bar. But i wasn't brave enough to go on the keg stuff. Ugh you're a brave man.

 

[graysalchemy]

But i wasn't brave enough to go on the keg stuff. Ugh you're a brave man.

I do many things to support my Sons football team and if that means drinking ***** beer then so be it. He gets hours of enjoyment so a couple of hours pain is nothing :whistle:

 

[WelshPaul]

I always assumed that Guinness brought out their Extra Cold variety to try to keep an edge on competition from other drinks during summer time when people would normally prefer a chilled pint.

 

[graysalchemy]

That may be true but it is still marketing at the expense of the product.

 

[mattyhall22]

I always used to ask for the normal guinness but loads of places only have the extra cold taps now :x

 

[richtangsoo]

Have to agree with some of the other comments here, Guinness is one of the blandest stouts on the market. The only thing that matters to them is profit and sales.

 

[bobsbeer]

Welcome Richtangsoo :

 

[critch]

It's a principle rule of economics. Make something bland and it will appeal to a wide range of tastes. There are a lot more people out there who don't care what it tastes like as long as it's cold and wet. Give something a distinctive flavour and it appeals to more of a niche, which translates to lower sales. Just look at Budweiser....

agree 100% most uk beers are brewed to appeal to the majority, so bland rules.... its quite impressive when you think about how coinsistently bland they are, when we all know how easy it is to make a tasty beer! :lol:

 

[The Goatreich]

its quite impressive when you think about how coinsistently bland they are, when we all know how easy it is to make a tasty beer! :lol:

A friend of mine works in the labs at InBev in Magor where they make Tennents, Stella, Budweiser and Boddingtons. We rib him for making ****** beers, but he always remains steadfast and proud that the beer they make is the same, pint after pint. You have to agree to a certain extent, with most micro breweries you get differences from batch to batch.

 

[graysalchemy]

You have to agree to a certain extent, with most micro breweries you get differences from batch to batch.

But is that a bad thing? I shows that it is a hand crafted product and not just a brand. :thumb:

 

[The Goatreich]

Not at all! I'm just slightly playing Devil's advocate and saying that I do appreciate the fact that every single pint of the big boys stuff tastes the same, and that's some next level brewery control.

 

[graysalchemy]

I agree with you it is the marvel of modern food technology. :thumb: