Warm homebrew is ok

[madscientist451]

So my cheap freezer-kegerator quit working, and although I got another one, it’s not set up yet.
I’ve got 4 kegs with picnic taps sitting in a 62F basement, and it’s not bad. Hoppy Amber, dry stout, Ruthless rye inspired, and and a no-boil graff is the line up. I’m not missing it being cold. Is 62f close to UK cellar temps?

 

[day_trippr]

I believe the traditional notion of "cellar temperature" is wine-focused and centered around 12°C or 54°F...

Cheers!

 

[lumpher]

I believe the traditional notion of "cellar temperature" is wine-focused and centered around 12°C or 54°F...

Cheers!

This. Traditional "Cellar temp" is considered to be 50-55F.

 

[MegalomaniaC]

I keep my beers, bottled or keged in my cellar which is around 60-62F and they are just fine.

 

[Miraculix]

In Germany it is pretty common to have the beer not chilled. Chilling removes flavour.

Some people like it, some don't. I prefer it on the colder side but wouldn't say no if offered room temperature beer. Cellar temperature around 15c is fine for me. Better than ice cold American pub 0c beer.

I once had a Newcastle brown ale at an American airport marketed with something like "almost frozen". The pipes had ice on it. I cried a little that day, but ordered it anyway.

 

[MegalomaniaC]

In Germany it is pretty common to have the beer not chilled. Chilling removes flavour.

Some people like it, some don't. I prefer it on the colder side but wouldn't say no if offered room temperature beer. Cellar temperature around 15c is fine for me. Better than ice cold American pub 0c beer.

I once had a Newcastle brown ale at an American airport marketed with something like "almost frozen". The pipes had ice on it. I cried a little that day, but ordered it anyway.

Certanly. I like my beers cold but not frozen unless its some average tap pilsner. Otherwise I like to let them sit a bit, but my reply was oriented to storage temperature. I have all my homebrews at 60-62F which is my cellar ambient and not seen one go bad.

I just restock the kitchen freezer with a couple or three and keep the batches there.

 

[Miraculix]

Certanly. I like my beers cold but not frozen unless its some average tap pilsner. Otherwise I like to let them sit a bit, but my reply was oriented to storage temperature. I have all my homebrews at 60-62F which is my cellar ambient and not seen one go bad.

I just restock the kitchen freezer with a couple or three and keep the batches there.

Oh, sorry I got that one wrong then. For me the main thing is to lower the amount of oxygen ie also air, in the bottle or keg as much as possible. As long as that is taking care of, temperature shouldn't matter too much unless you live somewhere in a tropical climate.

 

[scrap iron]

I second that Germans don't like cold beer. I was stationed there for three years in the service. I remember buying bratwurst and a beer at an outside food stand at a Christmas village. A German man came and ordered the same. He had the vender open the bottle of beer with the cap still on top and set it next to the hot plate to warm a little before drinking. We both had a Christmas beer and brats, what a great time.

 

[Broken Crow]

Personally I'd consider it a good test for your amber and stout. The only time I'd drink while working was when I was supposed to be 'relaxing' on a weekend, but I've never been able to sit around doing nothing so; In the middle of a pint I'd find some small project to work on, and come back to room-temp beer. It shaped my choices (at least for darker styles): If it still tastes good and satisfying at room temp, it was a keeper. I forgive others styles, such as cream ale or lagers tasting like crap at that temp.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

I feel your pain; mine also went out a few weeks back, and I have not had opportunity to replace it yet.

In the meantime, I’m swapping out a few frozen half-gallon jugs each morning and have been able to keep the temp between 55° and 65°. Of course, as we move into warmer weather here in the South, even that will be hard to maintain.

I don’t mind drinking beer at this warmer temperature; I had my controller set at 41° before the freezer failed. It’s actually a decent temperature for my stouts. Also, I am not so sure pouring near-freezing beverages into a body trying to maintain a 98.6° core temperature is actually a great idea anyway; especially if you’re already feeling hot.

I can also chill my mugs in my freezer to help things out a bit if desired.

Cheers!

 

[sibelman]

temperature shouldn't matter too much

Perhaps not too much. It seems to me that oxygen, time, and temperature all change beer. But if any two of these factors are ideal, perhaps the third matters less.

My experience is that beer changes over time -- even with good oxygen avoidance and low storage temperature. Also, some of those changes can improve the beer, at least in the short term.

 

[MegalomaniaC]

Oh, sorry I got that one wrong then. For me the main thing is to lower the amount of oxygen ie also air, in the bottle or keg as much as possible. As long as that is taking care of, temperature shouldn't matter too much unless you live somewhere in a tropical climate.

Yes, that is very important.

 

[bobtheUKbrewer2]

I worked with an American guy in London - he would buy a pint of guinness and stand it in front of the fire to warm it up,,,,,

 

[Closet Fermenter]

I worked with an American guy in London - he would buy a pint of guinness and stand it in front of the fire to warm it up,,,,,

I like my Irish Dry Stout warmish; brings out the roasted malt flavor which you don’t get if you drink it too cold.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I look at it this way: when beer gets warm in the glass, do you pour it out? I don't.

I like it freezing cold, even when it's wrong. I like it at the "proper" temperature. I like it less, but enough, when I forget and let the glass get too warm.

 

[bike2brew]

I routinely sample my beers directly from the conditioning closet where the temp hovers around 65.

 

[hotbeer]

As a teen ager, I use to help a friend in the country when it was time to load hay and take it to the barn. This was way BITD of square bales as well as when it was legal for a teen aged kid to drink beer. We just kept the six packs of beer unrefrigerated in the cab of the truck and learned to enjoy it at 80°F (27°C) or warmer.

It's one of the reasons for my member name.

 

[fluketamer]

yes it is ok.

flat warm uncarbonated homebrew is also ok . i often find myself nipping at the fermenter prior to kegging.

 

[sibelman]

Like @Clint Yeastwood, I enjoy beer over a range of temperatures. But there is such a thing as too warm, and too cold.

My kegerator keeps all four beers at about 36°F even though each might have its own "ideal" temp.

The beer in my room-temperature glass gradually warms as I sip (okay, sometimes gulp) it. This all seems to work well enough that I feel no urge to improve it.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

I learned to drink beer at warmer temperatures the summer I lived in a cabin with no refrigerator. On Fridays, we could go up the road and grab a six-pack or so for the weekend. The only option was drink it all while it was still cold, (sometimes), or tie a rope to it and pitch it into the small spring-fed, shaded pond out back. I don’t know what the temperature was, but it was cooler than just sitting out.