What Is The Best Temperature For Beer?

General Serving Temperature Rules: –

All beers should be served between 38-55° F. Lagers are served colder than ales. Stronger beers are served warmer than weaker beers. Darker beers are served warmer than lighter beers. Macro lagers are served as cold as the Rockies. Serve beers a few degrees colder than the target temperature, to accommodate for warming from the glass and the drinker’s hands.

What is the best temperature for beer degrees?

The best chilling temperatures for beer and wine

• Have you ever wondered what the best temperature for storing your beer and wine is?
• After all, when you’ve got a fresh batch of your favourite brew, you want to keep it in tip-top condition until it’s beer o’clock and you’re ready to guzzle down a bevvy or two.
• Here’s a little more information about chilling wine and beer, and why getting a to help you is a great idea.
• Chilling beer

There are a few nuances involved in the process of chilling beer. The ideal temperature for storage and temperature actually depends on the type of beer you’re drinking. Most people believe light or low-alcohol beers are served ice-cold, at around one to four degrees Celsius.

1. Varieties such as Pilsner and light lagers may be best served between four and eight degrees, while Pale Ales are more suited to eight to ten degrees.
2. Other, richer styles of beer can be enjoyed at even higher temperatures.
3. This is because the stronger the beer, the more intricate the flavours, which can be masked if the beer is too cold.

However, if you just want a quick, rejuvenating refreshment at the end of a long hot day, a cooler beer might be better for you. Chilling wine There are also a few variables when it comes to chilling wine. In general, white wine and Champagne should be chilled at a lower temperature, somewhere between six and 11 degrees.

1. Rich and flavoursome red wines are better suited to slightly higher temperatures, from 12 degrees all the way up to 18 degrees, or room temperature, for the most full-bodied of varietals.
2. So how can you know your beer and wine is being stored at the best temperature for its type?
3. With the right for your needs, you can have your favourite tipples at just the right temperature for full enjoyment.

: The best chilling temperatures for beer and wine

What temperature should Belgian beer be served at?

Best Temperature For Drinking Beer? – When it comes to beer, you may think that colder is better. Especially if you’re dreaming of sipping that Corona on a beach in Mexico. But, colder isn’t always better when it comes to all styles of beer. Just like fine wines are served at different temps, beer should be considered the same way.

So, how do you know the optimal temperature for drinking beer? Well, we’re laying out a guideline just for you. You don’t want to be the awkward person drinking their imperial stout at 40 degrees, that would be so embarrassing, right? In the end, you have to take everything with a grain of salt. Some people just like red wine cold or ice cubes in their rose.

The same can be said for beer. It might be frowned to drink a lager at 60 degrees, but hey if you like it, you do you. Here are the preferred temps by beer: 35–40°F (2–4°C): Mass market light lagers like Coors and Budweiser. These beers have a low ABV and won’t produce more flavor if left to get a little warm.

1. Many microbrewers and warm beer enthusiasts point to the so-called “macrobrews” for continuing the “ice cold” beer trend.
2. Unlike with the higher alcohol and flavor content of microbrews and many European beers, many traditional American beers are improved by these cold temperatures.40–45°F (4–7°C): Czech and German Pilsners, Munich Helles, wheat beers, and Kölsch,

Again, The colder the beer, the less carbonation is released; the less carbonation that’s released, the less aroma the beer gives off. These styles of beers aren’t bursting with flavor so they can be served at a slightly warmer temperature, but still chilled.45–50°F (7–10°C): IPAs, American pale ales, porters, and most stouts.

• The worst thing that can happen to a New England IPA is to serve it anywhere below 38 degrees, which is a common serving temperature,” says Eric Bachli, chief product officer at Sixpoint Brewery, previously at the helm as head brewer at Trillium,
• If you serve it below that, you really diminish and lose out on the flavor potential for that beer.” 50–55°F (10–13°C): Belgian ales, sour ales, Bocks, English bitters and milds, Scottish ales.

These brewers tend to brew with different types of yeast they generally come out more full bodied. Regarding sours because there are so many varities, there isn’t really a set temperature to drink them all.55–60°F (13–16°C): Barleywines, imperial stouts, Belgian strong ales, and Doppelbocks.

This temperature is considered “cellar temperature” and is best for the highest ABV and full bodied beers. A warmer temperature allows all of the flavors and notes to unlock. Keep in mind these are just guides, most restaurants don’t have separate refrigerators for all their beers. And most people don’t show up to dinner or drinks armed with a thermometer.

So if you want to try certain beers a little warmer, just let them sit for a few minutes after ordering. That is, if you can wait. Now, what is your optimal temperature to drink beer? Let us know your opinion in the comments.

What temperature is beer served at Celsius?

Beer Temperature Most beers have an ideal serving temperature, but as a general rule, the temperature at which to serve a beer is correlated to the strength of the beer. As beers go up in alcohol, they are generally drunk at a warmer temperature. This is because stronger beers often are sipped slowly, and enjoyed for their complexity of flavour and aroma while weaker beers are often consumed for refreshment.

Cask Ales To experience all the smells and tastes that the brewer wants you to, cask ale must be dispensed at the correct temperature. If the beer is too warm unpleasant and unplanned aromas will be given off, too cold and the clean, fresh, vibrant tastes will be lost. The recommended dispense temperature of the majority of brewers is between 11 – 13°C.

Cask Marque audits to a required range of 10-14°C allowing a little leeway. Some cask ales are meant to be dispensed at lower temperatures, particularly summer beers. These have been specially brewed in order that no chill haze ocurrs at temperatures where other cask ales might be affected. The trend these days is towards colder products and many pubs and bars will be using glycol cooling systems and flash coolers in order to dispense ‘extra cold’ products. These are normally dispensed between 0 – 5°C depending on the equipment. Bottled Products Bottled beers should be served at between 4 – 6°C. : Beer Temperature

What temperature should a beer fridge be?

Beer – If you are dedicating your beverage cooler to beer only, you will want to set the temperature within an ideal range. In general, most beer can be stored in a dark space with a consistent room temperature. However, to maximize the shelf life, the recommended storage temperature is between 45 and 55° F.

When it comes to drinking, some beers require warmer temperatures that allow more aromas to be released. Drink the beer too cold, and your palate may be too numb to taste the beer. Lower quality beers can be served ice-cold to help mask the flavors. For craft beers, however, the right temperature is important to provide the full drinking experience.

According to the Home Brewers Association, beer should be served between 38-55℉. Recommended serving temperatures for mainstream beers is between 33 – 40° F, pale lagers and ales between 40 – 45° F, wheat beers and lambics between 40 – 50° F, dark lagers, IPAs, stouts, and porters 45 – 55° F, and cask ales 50 – 55° F.

Will beer ferment at 12 degrees?

Most European and Australian commercially produced beers use the bottom fermenting or lager yeasts. Lager yeasts are designed to operate at temperatures ranging from between 6 degrees Celsius to 12 degrees or marginally higher.

Is 29 degrees too cold for beer?

What’s the Ideal Temperature? – There are three words that are often used in large beer company marketing, “Ice Cold Beer.” While it sounds refreshing, and many domestic beers are designed to taste better at colder temps, this marketing phrase is misleading. The standard temperature range for draft beer in the United States is between 36 and 40 degrees (a bit above “ice cold”). But because you are working to eliminate issues and maintain a perfectly balanced system, it is recommended that you shoot for a target temperature of 38 degrees and not a range.

What temperature do Europeans drink beer?

Ale; Lager – In Europe, an ale has a recommended serving temperature of 50-55 degrees, making it cool and refreshing (for European standards). The temperature allows for the richness and flavor of the beer to come forward. Europeans prefer lager at a colder temperature than ale, but only by a small difference.

What temperature is Heineken served at?

Read Time: 2 minutes Heineken gives us a crash course on draft There are some things in life we just accept without second thought, often falling into an unspoken understanding that it’s just the way things are. The sky is blue, the grass is green and beer (like revenge) is best served cold.

The thing we often overlook is that there’s a science to these things; there’s a reason why colors appear the way they appear and there’s a reason why beer manufacturers hold certain standards to their products. We’re not joking, there are some serious secrets and recruitments going on—but more on that stuff later.

First, let’s break down beer. https://giphy.com/gifs/head-gettin-zrj0yPfw3kGTS RELATED: Whiskey Cocktail Do-It-At-Home Recipes The temperature Most of us like our beer cold, but the truth is that the serving temperature actually depends on the kind of beer you’re drinking.

1. You see, the colder the drink is, the less of its flavor you’re able to actually taste.
2. Ideally, the general consensus is that beer is best served at around 6 degrees Celsius.
3. So hold the ice, finish the glass quickly and don’t order another round until you’re really ready.
4. Https://giphy.com/gifs/use-word-emotiva-NwBJGsc7WWtQ4 The serving Believe it or not, everything that a bartender does in serving your beer affects its flavor.

From the angle of the glass to the way the liquid pours into it and the temperature of the actual glass to the angle at which your bartender skims the excess foam—any one of these things could make the difference between great and good. This is why you won’t find certain beers just anywhere and even if you do find something like Heineken in tonight’s bar, not just anyone behind the counter can pour the drink.

1. Those that have the privilege of serving Heineken draft beer have legitimately been trained to give you the best possible experience.
2. It’s actually an interesting watch.
3. The bartender makes sure the glass is clean and pours the beer while holding the glass at a 45-degree angle.
4. As it fills, the glass is gradually tilted until it’s upright.

By the time s/he skims off the excess foam, the bottom of it should hit the parallel line on the star of a Heineken glass. Sounds complicated, huh? And you thought beer was something to be tossed around. The experience Granted, beer is different for everyone. People say that it’s an acquired taste, but there are those of us that just never learn to acquire that taste. Others can drink it like water, others would prefer to pay a little more extra for something harder, sweeter or more colorful. RELATED: 10 Ways You Could Be A Bad Party Guest (And Not Know It) Art Alexandra Lara

What temperature do pubs serve beer?

FAQs on the Best Beer Temperature – Got questions about the best temperature for beer fridges and for beer? Or want to know something specific about the perfect fridge temp for beer and we haven’t answered your questions? Check out our frequently asked questions about the ideal temperature for beer fridges and your beer below, or ask us yours in the comments.

What is the best temperature to drink beer at? The best temp for beer depends on what type of beer it is that you’re drinking. Check our guide above to see more details – but a general guide is pilsners from 4 to 6 degrees, wheat beers 4 – 7 degrees, pale ales 8 degrees, IPA’s, 10 degrees and dark ales and stouts from 10 to 12 degrees.

What is the best lager serving temperature? The best temperature to serve lager at is between 2 and 4 degrees celsius. What is the best IPA serving temperature? The best temperature for IPA is 8 degrees celsius.

What temperature is German beer served at?

When Do Germans Drink Warm Beer? – In the winter, many Germans indulge in Gluhbier, which is the seasonal release of a warm beer in the vein of a Gluhwein you often sample at those German Christmas Markets. But drinking warm beer isn’t a new or strictly seasonal idea.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the German public decided coffee was too unhealthy to be enjoyed every day so, as a result, Warmbier was created. A healthy alternative to coffee, Warmbier was a beer concoction that included much more than the traditional grains of wheat and barley. A standard Warmbier was made by heating up a beer, then adding ingredients such as eggs, flour, butter, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and sugar to the mix.

The result was more like a protein shake than an actual beer, but it does help explain where the myth of Germans drinking warm beer originates. Apart from this historical beverage, German beer generally isn’t served warm. However, they do tend to serve their beers a little warmer than American beers, with the average temperature of a German ale falling between 35 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which by US ice-cold standards is warm.

Is beer better warm or cold?

When it comes to craft ales and lagers, there really is no good one-size-fits-all temperature. And even if there were, it probably wouldn’t be ice cold. If Super Bowl ads, bar signs, and country songs are to be believed, Americans love their beer “ice cold.” After all, you can’t very well have a summertime backyard barbecue without an ice-filled cooler of longneck bottles and cans, can you? And beer always tastes best in a frosty mug, right? Well, yes and no.

• If your predilections lean toward mass-produced lagers with the word “lite” somewhere in the name, then yes, you definitely want to keep those things as cold as the natural laws of the universe will permit.
• But when it comes to craft ales and lagers, including most homebrew, there really is no good one-size-fits-all temperature.

And even if there were, it probably wouldn’t be ice cold. Temperature, you see, has a profound effect on our taste buds. The chemical compounds that are responsible for the myriad aromas and flavors we love in our beer are variously activated and suppressed according to temperature.

1. Warmth usually makes a flavor more perceptible, while cold tends to suppress it.
2. Choosing just the right temperature ensures that these constituent chemicals remain properly in balance as you enjoy your craft beer or homebrew.
3. Take sweetness, for example.
4. In a 2005 article in Nature (“Heat Activation of TRPM5 Underlies Thermal Sensitivity of Sweet Taste”), researchers identified how chemical pathways in the tongue’s taste receptors vary with temperature.

The upshot of the study is that increasing the temperature of a food or beverage strengthens the electrical signals that tell the brain what you’re tasting. But some kinds of taste respond differently than others, which is why an ice cold stout is likely to taste harshly bitter while a somewhat warmer sample expresses a balance between malt sweetness and roast bitterness.

35–40°F (2–4°C): Mass market light lagers 40–45°F (4–7°C): Czech and German Pilsners, Munich Helles, wheat beers, and Kölsch 45–50°F (7–10°C): IPAs, American pale ales, porters, and most stouts 50–55°F (10–13°C): Belgian ales, sour ales, Bocks, English bitters and milds, Scottish ales 55–60°F (13–16°C): Barleywines, imperial stouts, Belgian strong ales, and Doppelbocks

When in doubt remember this rule of thumb: light body and low alcohol beer tastes better cold while full body and high alcohol examples are better warmer. Whether you bottle or keg your homebrew, it’s unlikely that you’ll devote different refrigerators to different styles.

1. So the easiest thing to do to enjoy a pint at its best is to pour your beer and let it warm to your liking before you dig in.
2. All of this, aside, though, don’t ever let anyone tell you that the way you drink your beer is wrong.
3. If you prefer your malt liquor warm and your imperial stout ice cold, please go ahead.

To paraphrase S.G. Tallentyre (who, in turn, paraphrased Voltaire), I may disapprove of the way you drink your beer, but I will defend to the death your right to drink it that way. Expand your horizons, get tips for brewing award-winning beers, and keep up with the latest trends in brewing and craft beer with a subscription to Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine®,

Why does cold beer taste better?

Why do we like a Cold Beer? Welcome to one of the age-old questions humans have been asking since the invention of the refrigerators: why do some foods taste better when cold? It’s one of those quirky little thoughts we all have now and again, along with “Why does cola taste horrible when it’s flat?” or “Why do drinks taste better in a glass bottle as opposed to a plastic bottle?” Well, we’re here to put your mind at ease with our mini guide to why some foods and drinks taste better when So why do certain food and drinks taste better when served cold? It’s a scientific fact that beer, namely lager, tastes considerably better chilled than it does when it’s been out in the sun for a while.

Ales, bitters and stouts are best served at room temperature because it brings out the flavours. You’ve probably noticed if you’ve been to a bar in a hotter country on holiday and ordered a lager beer, the bartender will produce a frozen glass from the freezer and proceed to pour the beer into it. So – other countries have got it right but what’s the reasoning behind it? Basically, lager isn’t as flavoursome as ale so when it heats up in temperature it releases volatile aromas.

The molecules are reacting to the sudden change in temperature and release that not-so-nice chemical taste. Lager beers are simple, clean flavours – so refrigerating them is effectively preserving that fresh taste. How does cold food change in taste? Hotter generally means tastier – but that doesn’t rule out cold food from the delicious factor.

1. Ice cream must be frozen in order to enjoy later.
2. The reason it tastes so good is, when put into your mouth, it melts to your body temperature and hits your taste buds.
3. Your taste buds have tiny channels called TRPM5 which open up and, as soon as it detects a taste, an electric signal is sent to your brain and you think “Yum yum!” If you kept the ice cream out at room temperature for a while and then put it back in the freezer – it would lose a lot of its taste as the molecules evaporate in the air.

The same goes for food that needs to be The tastes are sealed into the food when it’s cold, so when you eat it and it hits those amazing TRPM5 receptors it releases the full flavour! What happens to the taste of cold food when it heats up? Many foods contain fat and, at high temperature, fat melts.

In some foods the fat needs to melt for it to taste good so you don’t end up with chunks of it in your casserole! But foods such as pork pies need solid fat to maintain that perfect taste. There are some foods – such as traditional spicy curries and various soups that taste much better when served cold.

: Why do we like a Cold Beer?

What temp kills bacteria in beer?

The Oxford Companion to Beer Definition of pasteurization The Oxford Companion to Beer definition of Pasteurization is the process of heat treating beer to inhibit the growth of potential beer spoilage microorganisms and prolong the shelf life of the beer.

1. Named after the great French scientist Louis Pasteur, who was able to prolong the drinking quality of beer by holding the beer at 55°C–60°C (131°F–140°F) for a short time, pasteurization is used in the production of most of the draught and bottled/canned beers throughout the world.
2. Pasteurization is often confused with sterilization.

In the former, the beer is subject to sufficient heat processing to render the beer free from microbial spoilage during the course of its shelf-life. However, low levels of some microorganisms might still survive the heating, albeit without causing spoilage of beer.

1. In sterilization, the heat treatment applied is of such intensity that it kills all microorganisms present.
2. Initially, based on a largely empirical observation, holding beer at a temperature of 60°C (140°F) for a few minutes was deemed sufficient to maintain microbiological integrity over its shelf-life of several months.

The brewing industry uses this temperature of 60°C as a basis for quantifying the extent of the pasteurization process. For every minute the beer is held at 60°C it is said to be subject to one pasteurization unit (PU). Holding for 15 min at 60°C, therefore, is 15 PUs of treatment.

1. There are two major methods of beer pasteurization.
2. Bottled and canned beers are pasteurized by passing the filled containers through a long, relatively narrow chamber in which hot water is sprayed over the containers for a fixed time before cooling.
3. The spraying chamber is called a “tunnel” and the process is therefore called “tunnel pasteurization.” For large containers of beer such as kegs, heating the contents of the keg in a tunnel is impractical.

Instead, beer is heat treated by being passed through a heat exchanger (hot water gives up its heat by exchanging with cold beer over a large surface area) where the beer will be heated to 70°C–72°C (158°F–162°F) for as little as 30 sec. See, This is known as “high-temperature/short-time” processing or, more commonly, “flash pasteurization.” It is calculated that 72°C (162°F) for 30 sec is equivalent to 15 min at 60°C, or 15 PUs.

• Beer that has been flash pasteurized is then cooled rapidly before being filled into sterile containers.
• Depending on the perceived risk of microbiological spoilage of the beer, the number of PUs applied will vary but for most beers the range is 5–25 PUs, with 15 PUs the approximate industry standard.

Beers with very low alcohol contents will tend to receive more PUs. Although pasteurization is effective in preventing microbial spoilage in beer, it can adversely impact flavor by accelerating the “staling” or “aging” of beer. Staling is a natural phenomenon, the result of relatively slow chemical changes to the beer components with time, particularly if any quantity of oxygen is present in the beer at the time of filling the beer container.

1. The application of heat during pasteurization increases the rate of the chemical changes.
2. Brewers endeavor to minimize oxygen pickup during packaging and reduce PU application to a minimum to maintain the freshness of the beer for as long as possible.
3. In recent years, instead of pasteurizing the beer, some brewers attempt to exclude beer spoilage microorganisms by a process of microfiltration known as “sterile filtration.” See,

This method can be highly effective, but it also tends to strip away flavor, aroma, body, and even color. See also, George Philliskirk : The Oxford Companion to Beer Definition of pasteurization

What temperature kills fermentation?

Rough Temperature Recommendations – The guide below will give you a rough idea of ideal water temperatures for proving your yeast.

Water at -4°F means your yeast will be unable to ferment. Water at 68° to 104°F means that your yeast’s ability to grow will be hindered, and its growth rate will be reduced. Water at 68° to 81°F are probably the most favorable range for the yeast to grow and multiply in. Water at 79°F are considered the optimum temperature for achieving yeast multiplication. Water at 81° to 100°F is the optimum temperature range for the fermentation process. Water at 95°F is the fermentation temperature that yields the best result. Water at 140°F or higher is the kill zone for yeast. At temps like this or higher, you will have no viable live yeast left.

Of course, these tentative estimations can be higher or lower depending on the type of yeast you are using, and whether it is active dry yeast, live yeast, or rapid rise yeast. The bottom line is that yeast thrives in warm water, sleep in cold water, and die in hot water.

What is too cold to brew beer?

Brewer: Todd Ashman,Titletown Brewing in Green Bay, WI – Understanding what happens during fermentation when temperatures fluctuate better helps the brewer determine what needs to be done. The quality of the beer and vitality of the yeast both need to be examined.

The pitching temperature of wort depends on the yeast strain — some ale strains routinely start fermenting around 70 ºF (21 ºC) and others start much warmer. Fermentation is exothermic, which means it will create its own heat. Having the ability to cool the fermentation once it starts to take off is an imperative.

I’ve heard of fermentations rising in temperature as much as 20 ºF (11 ºC) in six hours. The reality is if you aren’t keeping your fermenters cool, there may be a limit to what you can expect from your brewing efforts. However, since yeast growth and fermentations are exothermic and therefore generate heat, figure that the temperature within the fermenter can be as much as 8 °F (4 ºC) higher than outside of the fermenter during the early days of fermentation.

• So beers that are fermenting in refrigerators set at 65 °F (18 ºC) are most likely fermenting at about 72 °F (22 ºC).
• If you pitch when the wort is on the cool side (below 70 ºF or 21 ºC), you face a sluggish start and leave yourself open to bacterial or wild yeast contamination.
• Obviously, brewing is a series of compromises — sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don’t type of practice — so be prepared.

If you have day-to-day environmental temperature changes in the 65–90 ºF (18–32 ºC) range, chances are, your beer isn’t actually cooling down that much. The only time external temperature fluctuations may legitimately be a factor is during the first 12 hours of fermentation.

If temperatures do swing drastically in these initial hours, the fermentation may become sluggish and a good deal of your yeast may drop out of suspension. The only way I could see this happening would be a major “environmental” change, like putting the fermenter in a very cold ice bath or refrigerator.

This assumes that an adequate pitch of viable yeast was made and the wort was properly oxygenated. There are a variety of methods of cooling down wort. If you just need to get the temperature down a few degrees, try applying cool towels around your carboy.

If you are looking for more of a shift, immerse about half the height of the carboy into an ice bath to cool it. Temperature will also affect the rate of growth of the yeast. If the temperature is too high, yeast growth will be too vigorous, producing an excessive demand on nutrients and your beer will be depleted in these nutrients.

This can have an effect on subsequent conditioning. In addition to this, and probably more importantly, a higher growth temperature will change the yeasts metabolism, producing a different range of by-products, which can have a major effect on flavor.

1. If the temperature is too cool, the fermentation will be sluggish, resulting in an opportunity for the growth of contaminants, such as wild yeast and bacteria.
2. In terms of fermentation, lager yeasts are routinely fermented between 40–54 °F (4–12 ºC) while ale yeast is used from 55–70 °F (13–21 ºC).
3. The optimal fermenting temperatures of yeast vary considerably.

Some ale yeasts for example, do not perform well below 65 °F (18 ºC). The Narragansett (Chico) strain is notorious for this, as well as certain Belgian and wheat beer strains. Common symptoms of fermenting too cold are stuck fermentations, poor attenuation (high finishing gravities) and off-flavors — especially diacetyl.

Should beer always be cold?

Temperature does affect beer. However, it is not temperature cycling that destroys beer, but exposure to warm temperatures. Beer is best preserved when kept cold kind of like milk. A gallon of 2% will last a lot longer in your fridge than on your kitchen counter.

1. Much the same way, keeping beer refrigerated will keep its flavor as the brewer intended for much longer.
2. Eeping beer at room temperature can drop a beer’s shelf life from nearly six months to only a few weeks, and exposing the same beer to very warm temperatures can affect its flavor in a matter of a couple of days.

The good news? It can never make you sick. It just might not taste very good. Hop flavors and aromas will be diminished, first. Malt flavors that used to remind you of chocolate and caramel will begin to meld into a generic sickly “sweet” flavor, and in some beers reminders of wet cardboard and paper can develop.

Is 45 degrees good for beer?

Just Right – While there isn’t one universal temperature that suits all beers, there are a few basic rules you can follow to maximize the flavor of your brews without sacrificing their thirst-quenching qualities. For example, all beers should be served between 38-55° F.

Serve lagers colder than ales Serve strong beers warmer than weak beers Serve dark beers warmer than light beers

Why is it important to pour beer at a 45 degree angle?

THE POUR – You’re looking for a 45 degree angle tilt on your glass, that allows the beer to perfectly touch the wall of the glass and fall in. The idea is to avoid your beer from frothing or releasing too much carbonation at the start of the pour. THE TURN Once the glass is three-fourths full, turn it upright to get a decent head, which adds the aroma and mainly the roundness to any beer.

What is 11 degree beer?

Some of the best beer in Europe—and some of its most enthusiastic beer drinkers—can be found in Prague. Courtesy of Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door Czechs are among the world’s most enthusiastic beer ( pivo ) drinkers-adults drink an average of 80 gallons a year.

The pub is a place to have fun, complain, discuss art and politics, talk hockey, and chat with locals and visitors alike. The pivo that was drunk in the country before the Industrial Revolution was much thicker, providing the main source of nourishment for the peasant folk. Even today, it doesn’t matter whether you’re in a restaurace (restaurant), a hostinec (pub), or a hospoda (bar)-a beer will land on your table upon the slightest hint to the waiter, and a new pint will automatically appear when the old glass is almost empty.

(You must tell the waiter not to bring more.) Order beer from the tap ( točené means “draft,” sudové pivo means “keg beer”). A pivo is large (0.5 liter, or 17 oz); a malé pivo is small (0.3 liter, or 10 oz). Men invariably order the large size. Pivo for lunch has me sightseeing for the rest of the day on Czech knees.

1. The Czechs invented Pilsner-style lager in nearby Plzeň (“Pilsen” in German), and the result, Pilsner Urquell, is on tap in many local pubs.
2. But be sure to venture beyond this famous beer.
3. The Czechs produce plenty of other good beers, including Krušovice, Gambrinus, Staropramen, and Kozel.
4. Budvar, from the town of Budějovice (“Budweis” in German), is popular with Anheuser-Busch’s attorneys.

(The Czech and the American breweries for years disputed the “Budweiser” brand name. The solution: The Czech Budweiser is sold under its own name in Europe, China, and Africa, while in America it markets itself as Czechvar.) The big degree symbol on bottles does not indicate the percentage of alcohol content.

Instead, it is a measurement used by brewers to track the density of certain ingredients. As a rough guide, 10 degrees is about 3.5 percent alcohol, 12 degrees is about 4.2 percent alcohol, and 11 and 15 degrees are dark beers. The most popular Czech beers are about as potent as German beers and only slightly stronger than typical American beers.

Each establishment has only one kind of beer on tap; to try a particular brand, look for its sign outside. A typical pub serves only one brand of 10-degree beer, one brand of 12-degree beer, and one brand of dark beer. Czechs do not mix beer with anything, and do not hop from pub to pub (in one night, it is said, you must stay loyal to one woman and to one beer).

• Na zdraví means “to your health” in Czech.
• For more details, please see Rick Steves’ Prague & the Czech Republic,
• Rick Steves ( www.ricksteves.com ) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio.
• E-mail him at, or write to him c/o P.O.
• Box 2009, Edmonds, WA 98020.

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