Serving Beer Properly

Homebrewing For Dummies

To fully enjoy your beer-drinking experience, it helps to follow a few simple serving suggestions. Here are some very simple and easy ways to increase your beer enjoyment:

Make sure the beer is at proper serving temperature. Lighter bodied and lighter colored beers can be served cold (40 to 44 degrees Fahrenheit, 4 to 6 degrees Celsius), but darker beers should be served a bit warmer (44 to 48 degrees Fahrenheit, 6 to 9 degrees Celsius). High octane brews can even be served at room temperature.
Always pour the beer into a (clean) glass. Doing so releases a lot of the CO2, which increases the beer’s aromatics while reducing your carbonation intake (and, thus, your aromatics).
Though not absolutely essential, using certain beer glasses, such as Pilsner glasses, Weissbier glasses, wine flutes, and brandy snifters, can enhance your sipping experience.

About This Article

About the book author:

Marty Nachel is a beer educator, an award-winning homebrewer, a BJCP Certified Beer Judge, on the panel of professional beer judges at the Great American Beer Festival, and a former beer evaluator at the Beverage Testing Institute. He is also the founder and administrator of the Ale-Conner Beer Certification Program.

Steve Ettlinger is the author of seven books, most of which are about food and food-related subjects. His most recent is Twinkie, Deconstructed.