Shifting gears to the wider flavor spectrum of beers

Shifting gears to the wider flavor spectrum of beers and craft beers out there, we find
that flavors are actually in abundance and the goal of serving temperature is to enhance,
rather than mask. But it isn’t just a matter of arctic vs room temp. As with glassware , it’s
about what is right for what style of beer.
A basic rule of thumb is higher alcohol, higher complexity beers should be served at
higher temperatures, while lower alcohol and/or lower complexity beers are better at
lower temperatures (stopping well short of frigidity). Color also is a roughly useful

indicator of serving temp, with lighter colored beers doing better at lower temps, and
darker beers doing better at warmer temps.
Of course, when we say warm, we’re not really talking about “room temperature.” No
one drinks beer that warm, not even the Brits, who instead more often drink beer at
cellar temperature, around 55 F. The range for beer drinking is basically between 40F and
60F. To keep it simple, here’s a basic spectrum of appropriate temperatures for some of
your favorite beers. (Bear in mind, personal preference always trumps recommendations.)

40 and below: best reserved for mass- marketed, “lite,” and otherwise one -dimensional
refreshment beers

40 to 45: lagers, German Pilsners, wheat beers, Kolsch, lighter fruit beers, American dark
lagers, lighter in profile but with more available complexity

45 to 50: American pale ales, IPAs, porters, stouts, Bohemian pilsner, English golden ale,
Belgian ale, Spanish and French cider, unsweetened lambics and gueuzes

50 to 55: Bocks, English beers (bitters and milds), Scottish ales, Brown ale, saison, Abbey
dubbel

55 to 60: stronger beers like Imperials, dopplebocks, barleywines
6.7.7.4 Skunked Beer
Pepe Le Pew preferred wine. So what’s all this reference to “skunked” beer?
It’s actually pretty simple, and yes, a fairly accurate comparison. Skunked is a term we
use when referring to beer that’s been compromised by exposure to UV rays. (The
technical term is, appropriately, “lightstruck.”) When that bottle of beer is opened— and
skunked beer only happens in bottles —there will be an unmistakable aroma of “skunk,”
which may or may not influence your desire to drink or discard the beer.
The reason only bottled beer can be skunked is because UV rays can only reach the beer
through glass bottles. Brown bottles do the best job at protecting the beer (about four
times more protected),while green bottles are more susceptible, and clear glass bottles
are (clearly) the most susceptible to skunking. While humans can slather on the SPF 50
and wear hats the size of small boats, we can’t quite do the same for our beer. Sure, we
could put all of our beer in cans or brown bottles, but the industry is made up of
hundreds of breweries, each with its own entrenched marketing and branding. Green
glass and even clear glass bottles are not about to go away.