A Beer Myth That Won't Go Away!
Insisting that beer can spoil if it goes from cold to warm to cold again is wrong.
Stop it, stop it now!
I don’t know who started this insane idea, but I am guessing some beer geek blogger in his parent’s basement. He did this, I am sure, right after giving a one-star yelp review to the restaurant that wouldn’t take his third party out of state checks.
Beer stored cold will last longer, especially if it is a hoppy brew, but there is no real harm done to the beer if you take it out of the fridge and let it warm to room temperature, then chill it down again. It would take many cycles of cooling and warming to have an appreciable effect on the beer, and most beer has already experienced several cold-to-warm cycles in its journey from the brewery to your glass.
Beer is a perishable item. The longer it is properly stored the longer it will taste the way the brewery intended. We extend the shelf life of beer by keeping it cold. Asking for beer that is stored warm is like asking for bread that has been left out overnight. With that said beer can be stored and displayed warm it is just BETTER to store it COLD.
I noticed that the beer we use for display on top of the cooler kept disappearing. I asked the pub tender to make sure the cooler was stocked so folks would not have to take the display beer. He said customers were insisting on warm beer. They ask for warm beer from the BACK. The thing is, we don’t store our beer warm in the back! It was suggested that “we store some beer warm to accommodate these customers because the customer is always right.” My head exploded. Next, I will be serving aged sushi.
We once took a six pack of Budweiser and for a month placed it on top of the oven during the day and in the refrigerator at night. During Beer Schools we would have customers try and tell the difference between the abused Bud and a fresh Bud. They couldn’t.
For the non-believers out there, you are more than welcome to take the warm beer, just know that my beer soul dies a little each time you do.
