Coldest Beer in Town

This has been a pretty typical morning for the Bayshore. Hazy blue skies, gulls screaming and a gentle breeze from the North. Last night we watched from our porch as several groups of teens walked down the street toward First Avenue. We exchanged greetings as they faded into the darkness. We suspected that they might be headed for Mike’s to grab a cold soft drink and a snack before it closed and when they returned a short while later empty handed we were surprised. Well this morning as I walked to the ferry I could follow their trail of litter back to First Avenue. Hostess Cupcakes, Combos, Arizona Iced Teas and some sports drink or another thoughtlessly discarded a few feet from a trash can. It just makes you wonder what they do at home. These are, by all measures, good kids from nice families. But of course as the parent of a teen I already know the answer. They do the same thing. Yogurt cups and plastic bottles secreted about the basement. Bowls from a second breakfast abandoned on the third floor. It is frustrating because you try to do the right thing. You teach them the value of nature and the importance of protecting the environment as well as the need to dispose of food waste properly to avoid vermin at home. You remind them to recycle and reuse and in a fleeting moment the wrapper is discarded and the sugar fix is gulped down… Were we this way? Of course we were…

So, tonight as I walk home I will collect the wrappers and cans and dispose or recycle as needed. And someday these lads, somewhat older and wiser, will hopefully do the same thing…

As I round the corner I am treated to a near miss between two drivers youthful too focused on their cell phones to drive carefully, and exchange greetings with a school custodian. We just smile and shake our heads at what we have just seen. Moving on down First Avenue I exchange greetings with a motorcyclist on East Mount, a Council Member outside the Bagel Store and two fishermen coming up from the harbor to grab some breakfast in town. Looks to be a normal day in Atlantic Highlands…

This is a beer column so at some point I have to get around to writing something beer related.

So today let’s talk temperature. The late Michael Jackson author of several books on Scotch and Beer once said that the saddest four words in the English language were “Coldest Beer in Town.” As a Brit one might expect this type of comment but what was he really trying to say? As a young lad I was a Boy Scout and spent many a summer evening around a roaring fire listening to the leaders and parents compare stories of their military service during the Second World War. There was always a comment like the English and the Germans like their beer warm. This was usually uttered as a derisive comment as if any nation that did not ice down their beer was somehow a lesser nation. Well there are two sides to the coin and we are becoming a culture that is taking a closer look at what we eat and drink. Websites like Beer Advocate, Rate Beer and Chow.com look at beer as not just a drink but as a companion to fine food. With wines we are told to serve some wines chilled, some cooled and some at room temperature to allow the wine to express itself properly. With Scotch we are told to add some water to “open up” the nose and flavor. So too with serving beer - temperature is important. Ales which are top fermented at warmer temperatures and then cellared to mature, taste better cooled to cellar temp. In some styles such as English Bitter this warmer temperature (warmer but still cooled) will allow the subtle flavors of malt and fruity yeast to compete with the fragrant and floral Kents, Fuggles and Goldings hops typically used in the style. Other ale styles such as the American Pale Ales are highly hopped and can stand up to colder temperatures - but you will miss something – balance. For example take Sierra Nevada Pale Ale which is a typical American Pale Ale. Serve it icy cold in a chilled glass and all you will taste is the hops. - grapefruit, citrus and the other sharp tastes associated with Cascades, Yakimas and other West Coast hops. Bracing and refreshing - yes but let it warm a bit and it becomes a different beer. The biscuit and sweet malt notes start to emerge from behind the blast of hops.

Lager beers are another story. They are fermented at cooler temperatures over a period of weeks not days like the typical ale so they have a crisp flavor profile that will stand up better to a cooler serving temperature. As they warm you will notice some sweetness but there is very little there. Lager styles, especially the pale ones, use lightly toasted malts so the color will be very pale and there will be little in the way of un-fermentable sugars. Darker lagers such as Bocks and Double Bocks, while still lager styles, will have a malty sweet profile and will taste better a little warmer.

Do I ever drink ice cold beer? You bet. Industrial Beers like Budweiser, Miller and Coors (in all their variations light, lime , select, ultra etc.) are, in my opinion, best enjoyed at palate numbing temperatures. The same goes for the clear bottle beers of Mexico and the Caribbean. (Modelo, Carib, Kalik, Corona, Tecate, Pacifico and Sol.) All of which benefit greatly from the addition of citrus and a pre-chilled glass. The same applies to most mass produced European beers like Heineken, Stella Artois These are where you turn for quick refreshment after working in the Garden or a day at the beach. When the first beer is going to be gone in a few minutes and the tongue will not be afforded a chance to explore the beer’s palate. Come to think of it ice-water also works here… and Becks.

So serving temperature is important but there is no right or wrong here, there is just personal preference. So next time, as you sip a cold beer take note of how the beer changes as it warms. You decide what is the best temperature for you for that beer.