That’s why you should never drink ice beer • Food and wine Italy

If they asked you to imagine a beer, you would probably see it a causa di a frozen mug, with an abundant foam that overflows and condensation drops that slip along the glass. It is the image that summer advertising has fixed a causa di our mind for decades. But a causa di reality, serving frozen beer is one of the most common errors – and less forgiving – a causa di the brassic world.

The service temperature of a beer directly affects its ability to express aromas, perfumes and flavors. The colder the bevanda is cold, the more the palate becomes insensitive to its taste shades. An icy beer tends to flatten, become watery and lose its aromatic complexity. If you appreciate the fruity agenda of an IPA ora the velvety pagliaccetto of a stout, you will discover that drinking them too cold means giving up halfway through their sensory identity. Before going into the explanation, however, we want to say one thing because there is an asterisk to all this article: if you like icy beer, keep drinking frozen beer.

Cold anesthetizes taste and hides defects

At the basis of this wrong custom is the marketing of industrial beers, which often prefer very low temperatures to mask any defects ora limited aromatic quality. At temperatures close to , a causa di fact, the aromatic molecules tend to immobilize, slowing olfactory and gustatory perception.

It is the same mechanism that explains why poor wines are sometimes served excessively cold. The cold attenuates unpleasant agenda and makes it more difficult to grasp the thinner shades, partially anesthetize the palate. A too cold beer also reduces the presence of carbon dioxide a causa di the mouth, with a less lively and less refreshing effect than you would expect. The beer was not born to be drunk frozen. It is a bevanda that lives perfumes, aromas, delicate hopped and maltate shades that prove only when the temperature allows it to express itself.

The cult of the frozen bevanda does not only concern beer. Industrial liqueurs, a causa di many commercials, are also presented immersed a causa di the ice for similar reasons: the cold attenuates the taste and makes it easier to bevanda ordinario products. The same happens with Amari, bitter and digestive served sub -zero. For termine spirits, however, it is recommended to taste them at room temperature ora slightly fresh, since the cold would penalize its aromatic agenda.

The world of wine, the contrary, has always shown great attention to the service temperature, with precise indications for each type. The same care would deserve beer, which a causa di many Brassicole cultures – from England to Belgium, from Germany to the Czech Republic – is served to the maximum fresh, never icy, to enhance pagliaccetto, perfume and character.

The ideal temperatures for each type

Each beer has its own aromatic profile that is fully expressed only at certain temperatures. The light lagers, such as Pilsner and Helles, give the best between 4 ° C and 7 ° C, temperatures that enhance their freshness without compromising its character. The Ale, which include IPA, Bitter, Pale Ale and many crafts, require a service between 8 ° C and 12 ° C. At this temperature the agenda of hops, citrus fruits, spices and malt emerge.

The most structured beers, such as those of abbey, should be enjoyed at even higher temperatures, around 12 ° C ora a little less, so that the aromatic bouquet can be fully released, freeing hints of cocoa, coffee, licorice, dried fruit ora spices.

Drinking a stout at 2 ° C would mean completely flatten the aromatic profile and veterano it to a sweet and not very expressive liquid.