What an unexpected pleasure to discover so many colonial supporters of
English (OK and Irish) beer among the regulars of this Triumphs ( obligatory
LBG) forum!
My working life life involved quite a lot of travelling which resulted in
my sampling beers from everywhere except the polar regions. I don't think
you can really generalise about beer, but if pressed I would say that most
of the beer that is served cold, i.e. in the 40'sF is almost undrinkable if
you have to consume it at room temperature, say 60-70F. They cool it to take
the taste away.
OTOH if you are served with a real Ale, (as rescued in UK some years ago
from extinction by the efforts of UK based CAMRA, acronym for campaign for
the maintenance of real ale) that is best when it comes from a proper cellar
below the pub which should be fairly constant at 55F in the winter and maybe
60F in the summer which works out at say 10F cooler than the bar ambient. If
you are served with real ale which has been chilled, it is tasteless and
unsatisfying.
The big brewers in Europe have been trying for years to get us to drink
homogeneous pasteurised chemical muck in glass lined metal barrels produced
in a chemical works, so it has a long shelf/barrel life unaffected by
weather or temperature. Some of our most famous brands of beer have been
wrecked in this way and the young of Europe seem to drink revolting brands
of chemical Australian and American beer straight from the bottle. (In
fairness some say they drink from the bottle to avoid contamination from
date rape drugs! What is the world coming to?))
But the flag is still flying for real ale, there are still traditional local
breweries in UK and Europe and it behoves all of us who enjoy a real glass
of beer to support them and to try to educate our sons and daughters to
enjoy a glass be it straight or a jug with a handle.
Here endeth the lesson.
David Brister.
Traditional Old Fart with 1967 TR4A
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