The temperature of a beer changes the drinker’s experience.  Warmer temperatures reveal the range of flavors in a beer but cooler temperatures are considered more refreshing. Drinking chilled beer didn’t really begin until the development of artificial refrigeration in the 1870s, so 18^th Century beer would always be fermented and served at room temperature (~20C) or, if possible, cellar temperature (~13C).  Since most beer in 18^th Century American were ales, this means they had robust flavor profiles. This stands in stark contrast to the modern lager which is fermented at around 7C and served at near 0C.

Fermenting a beer in the cold minimizes the flavors that result from yeast action.  These are typically the fruity and sometimes sour flavors.  If you want a simple alcoholic beverage that has light tastes and relatively low alcohol, cold is the way to go. Warm fermentation accentuates the complexity of non-grain ingredients.  Beer fermented at room temperature creates a beer bursting flavors from all the components, including yeast.  Warmer fermentation also increases the rate and end alcohol levels but also increases acidity and various fermentation byproducts, like esters (fruity smells and tastes), phenols (hoppy smells and tastes), and carbonyl compounds (pungent smell and taste).  Colder fermentation suppresses all of these and results in a sweeter, crisper, and lower alcohol beer. 

Of course, for the brewer who made beer prior to the invention of artificial refrigeration (1870’s) this is all an academic issue.  In the mountains of Bavaria or Bohemia, you can find caves where the cellar temperatures remain quite low year-round.  This allows for those traditional German lagers and Pilsners we all are familiar with.  In the rest of the world, we adjust our product to match the climate.  Which leads to English and Dutch beers being mostly ales with complex characters.  Middle Eastern beers (remember, beer is from Mesopotamia is far older than Islam so this is a thing), are always ales and extremely complex in their flavor profiles.  Many of these ales are actually better if served heated!

Then there are post prohibition American beers (ie rice an corn beers almost always lagered) which have an acidic, sulphuric taste when served warm.  This leads many to avoid drinking beer at any temperature other than ice cold and if you drink Budweiser or Coors, that’s probably wise but good beer can be consumed at any temperature. 

Don’t turn up your nose at room temperature beer.  If it’s the right sort of beer it can be quite good. But please don’t drink straight from the bottle, its barbaric.

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