What are the best beers to drink warm?
Malt-driven beers, amber ales, scotch ales, English ESBs, Belgian doubles, and some low bitterness chocolate stouts will be your best choices. Avoid hoppy & lager-style beers and industrial beer.
Have you ever gone camping, hiking, or mountain biking only to return to your car and discover all your beer is warm??
Have you ever gone backpacking or bike-touring for multiple days and packed beer, yet neglected packing a cooling device to save weight or time??
Enjoying a warm beer with a view!
If the answer is YES, of course….then keep reading.
I contacted 3 Cicerone’s (beer experts/Sommelier of beer) and 4 world-renowned beer experts / authors to find out what is the best beer to drink warm. The beer world is large and complex, so I reached out to experts in the United Staes, London, and Australia to discover what is truly the best tasting warm beer.
Randy Mosher’s warm beer advice
Randy Mosher is an expert in the field of beer and brewing and has written numerous beer books and articles. Randy’s book Tasting Beer: An Insider's Guide to the World's Greatest Drink is quite possibly the most important book for studying to become a Cicerone.
“As a general rule, stronger and/or darker beers don’t need to be ice cold. Although they’re sometimes against the healthy nature of camping, big barleywines and imperial stouts are just fine at cool room temperature”
What is the best beer to drink warm? What is the best beer for outdoor camping if one doesn't have a cooler or any way to chill a beer down?
As a general rule, stronger and/or darker beers don’t need to be ice cold. Although they’re sometimes against the healthy nature of camping, big barleywines and imperial stouts are just fine at cool room temperature. Or, you might recommend an English-style ale or Irish stout, as these are traditionally served at cellar temperatures rather than super-cold.
On a chilly night, it might be fun to make a batch of flip or other heated beer. If you make it with a barrel-aged stout, you might even coax a bit of s’mores flavor out of it. Years ago, when craft beer was hard to find in places like northern Wisconsin, I used to bring along a super-strong beer that I could add in small proportion to whatever crappy beer I could find, as a kind of concentrated beer flavoring, and it made it a lot better.
IMO, mass-market tastes the worst at anything other than cold temperatures.—Randy
What is a flip? “If on a cold night in Colonial America you walked into a tavern and ordered a hot drink, the proprietor would make you a flip: a concoction of beer or cider mixed with liquor and sugar, heated by the plunge of a red-hot poker fresh out of the fireplace.” - from Liquid Intelligence by Dave Arnold
Joe Vogelbacher - Master Cicerone
Joe Vogelbacher is 1 of 19 Master Cicerones in the world and is the co-founder of Sugar Creek Brewing Company in Charlotte, North Carolina. The process of becoming a Master Cicerone is comparable to getting a Ph.D in brewing science, beer history, beer-styles, culture, and food pairing.
The Biltmore is 99 miles from Charlotte, NC
What is the best beer to drink warm? What’s the best beer to bring along on camping trip, or backpacking/bike-touring if one doesn't have a cooler or fridge, but wanted to end the hike/day with a great tasting beer that will be warm?
In general, the beers we consider most refreshing are best served cold, approx: 36-45 degrees. These include your light lager family, Pale Lagers, Pilsners, Cream Ales and Blond Ales (I think drinks, in general, are most refreshing when served cold.) Beers in the wheat beer family can be good up to 45-50 degrees but I still prefer them cold.
You can get away with a little higher temperature when you are dealing with beers that have more flavor.
These beers tend to have more malt backbone and in a lot of cases higher ABV
Since I would want to avoid the higher ABV beers on a bike ride or hike that leads me to the session beers of Great Britain
A lot of British beers were traditionally served at cellar temperatures, approx 52 degrees F, and they were designed to be refreshing and thirst-quenching at that temp. They also have a little lower carbonation which makes them easier to drink in my opinion.
The family of beers that I'm referring to are known as Ordinary Bitters in the UK. The Ordinary Bitter has ABV range is 3.2 to 3.8 which makes it very light and easy to drink. These beers are Pale Amber to Light copper in color and balance smooth malt flavors of caramel, biscuit with a light toasted maltiness The yeast character lends a little bit of fruit aroma and the hop bitterness is rather low around 25-35 IBUs, with pleasant floral aromas.
As a commercial example, I would point you towards Young's Ordinary Bitter preferably in a can
As a second runner up and a choice from our lineup, I would point you to our Sugar Creek Pale Ale again in a can. This beer is fermented with English yeast, rings in around 5% abv and is made with English Marris Otter Malt and Belgian Specialty Grains. This gives the beer a firm malt backbone similar to the classic bitters of the UK
And as a third runner up, I would suggest a German Altbier. These are well-balanced malt-forward session beers that can be drunk at slightly higher temperatures. Around 50 degrees. My neighbor, Olde Mecklenburg Brewery makes a great one called “Copper”
- Joe Vogelbacher
“Take off your socks and put a little water on them and then set your beer inside the sock in the sun to dry off. As the water evaporates, the effects of evaporative cooling will cool down your beer ”
joe’s beer chillin’ tricks
Lastly, there is a trick for the hiker that takes advantage of a little Thermo Dynamics that can help get your beer down to our required temp of 50 degrees even in the hottest of climates.
Take off your socks and put a little water on them and then set your beer inside the sock in the sun to dry off. As the water evaporates, the effects of evaporative cooling will cool down your beer (Latent Heat of Evaporation). My business partner Eric used this trick to much success when he was in Afghanistan to cool down his Zam Zam drinks.
—Joe
Joe also suggests to “pack a wicking type sweat towel and then simply wrap your can of beer with the wet towel, the same effect can be achieved without having to take off your socks.”
Mark Dredge’s warm beer tips
“I’d pick a great dark lager or schwarzbier, or perhaps a hefeweizen”
Mark Dredge is a London-based award-winning beer author with a half-dozen books on the subject including Beer and Food, and A Brief History of Lager. Mark makes regular appearances on British TV providing beer advice and is an international beer judge.
What is Mark Dredge’s advice for drinking warm beer on the trail?
It's not a very easy one to answer as almost every beer tastes best when it's cold, certainly the kind of refreshing beer you'd want to drink after a hike. Because of that, I think that no matter the beer, you'll still be refreshed by a can of beer even if it's been warmed by being in your rucksack.
The other option is to try and find a stream or river to put the beer in for a few minutes to try and chill it down... If I was going on a hike and knew I'd have a beer that wasn't cold at the end then I'd want something that was quite light and refreshing (because I'll be thirsty!) but also one which doesn't have to be cold to taste great, so I'd pick a great dark lager or schwarzbier, or perhaps a hefeweizen. These tend to work pretty well even if they aren't ice cold.
—Mark
Joshua Austin - beer, wine & Spirit professional
“Hop forward light beers as well as lagers can be truly awful at warmer temps”
Josh is a Certified Cicerone, Certified Sommelier, and Certified Specialist of Spirits. Josh has thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail (AT), which means he has drank a few warm beers……or several thousand…but who’s counting.
Josh Austin
What does Josh have to say?:
For backpacking and bike touring purposes where the beer will be at least room temp from a day in your pack, I’d bring more malt influenced beers.
Hop forward light beers as well as lagers can be truly awful at warmer temps. As the carbonated liquid warms, the CO2 comes out of solution quicker leaving warm beers flat and without that carbonic acid zip on the palate needed for most lighter style ales and lagers to be refreshing.
Try bike touring/backpacking with amber ales, scotch ales, English ESB’s and heavy flavored stouts as a lot of these beers are originally served with low carbonation at a cellar temp.
I think Belgian doubles and quads could be magical as well with there unique yeast strains giving great depth even at warmer temps. Just watch for foam when opening.
Another fun choice could be going with a funky Lambic. With Still Lambics, there is no carbonation to worry about. Solid acidity and tartness refresh the palate. They are meant to be drank at cellar temp and the funky earthy nose might complement the smells of a dense forest. Plus Oude Beersel just released a 3 Liter bag in box Lambic!
Being in Nature just got a little bit better!!!
—Josh
Jeff Alworth - Trail drinking advice
Jeff Alworth is the author of The Beer Bible and is co-host of Beervana, which is a podcast that discusses brews and the economics of beer.
Jeff has a different perspective when it comes to warm beer out on the trail:
“I don’t think any beer should be served at room (or trail) temperature. I’d take whisky.”
Whiskey: Not a bad option, and is a common choice for thru-hikers and bike-touring riders when pack-weight is of utmost concern.
The bag of red wine from boxed wine is also common to find out on the trail.
Joanna Postlethwaite - Certified Cicerone
“There’s also something to be said about having my beer and my coffee all in one!”
Joanna Postlethwaite is a Certified Cicerone and a Beer Buyer & Marketing & Events Coordinator for the Thirsty Monk, which has locations in Asheville, Portland, and Denver, all three great craft beer cities.
Joanna works at the Asheville location and has some great advice and tips for drinking the best warm beer while enjoying the great outdoors - Joanna says:
When I'm backpacking and don't have ice or coolers readily available, my
go-to is a robust stout, preferably with fresh black coffee notes like
Thirsty Monk's Brother Joe's Coffee Stout, Hi-Wire's Strongman, Highland's
Black Mocha Stout or Founder's Breakfast Stout. The roasted malt backbone
holds up to room temperature, and as the beer warms it releases those
yummy black coffee and dark chocolate aromas. There aren't as many
volatile hop oils and proteins to worry about being particularly
susceptible to sunlight or temperature changes. There's also something to
be said about having my beer and my coffee all in one!
My runner up is a Munich Dunkel. I love dark lagers in general, and while
their light counterparts tend to fall apart once they warm up, once again,
darker Munich malts come to the rescue and bring out their sweet biscuit
and nutty flavors as they warm. My favorite local examples are our own
Thirsty Monk Munich Dark Lager, and Munich Dunkels at Hillman Beer, Wedge
Brewing, Homeplace Beer Co. and Brevard Brewing.
—Joanna
Beer knowledge from Australia
“In terms of choosing a beer, mainstream lagers aren’t a great choice. These beers are absolutely designed to be consumed as cold as possible.”
Matt Kirkegaard is an Australian beer writer, educator, and presenter. In 2014 Matt was named the first-ever Australian Beer Writer of the Year at the Australian International Beer Awards.
Matt is commonly known as Beer Matt and let’s see what he has to say:
One of beer’s greatest attributes is refreshment, so having a beer is the perfect reward for any strenuous activity. However, temperature - a cold beer - is also a part of our expectations for refreshment so a cold beer will always trump a warm one. If you can keep it cool while you hike or ride, a cold beer will always be best. Fortunately craft beer as often as not comes in cans which are lighter and easier to pack for adventure.
In terms of choosing a beer, mainstream lagers aren’t a great choice. These beers are absolutely designed to be consumed as cold as possible. In beer terms they are highly processed and use adjunct sugars such as rice, corn or cane sugar to lighten the body and often use hop extracts for bittering. The end result is that while they provide a crisp refreshment at very low temperatures, they’re not very pleasant at room temperature.
Apart from temperature, the other pleasing character in beer that assists with refreshment is gentle bitterness. It’s one of the things that makes beer more satisfying that water. So, if you really want a beer and can’t guarantee it will stay cold, a nicely balanced American Pale Ale is probably your best bet, with a nice malt body, some piney hop character and refreshing bitterness to reward your efforts of the day.
—Matt
beer & ideal temperatures
Serving temperature is the most important aspect of serving a beer, since serving temperature affects the flavor, aroma, texture, & carbonation. Different beer styles are best served at varying temperatures:
Stronger beers served warmer than weak beers
Dark beers served warmer than light beers
Lager beers served cooler than ales
Large industrial-style beers served the coldest
Range of ideal temperatures: 38° - 55°F (3° - 13° C)
“General rule of thumb for most non-industrial type beers - warmer than fridge temperature, but noticeable cooler than room temperature”
How does temperature affect beer flavor
The serving temperature of beer has numerous impacts on flavor. Since serving temperature is so crucial, you would think there was a universally recognized optimal temperature range….but there is not.
Different countries prefer different temperatures with varying amounts of foam or beer ‘head’.
How does serving temperature affect beer characteristics?
Served too cold = De-accentuates all of the flavors but increases the effect of carbonation and beer ‘bite’
Served too warm = Accentuates the off-flavors and decreases carbonation and hop flavors
Carbonation and beer flavor
The rate that carbon dioxide stays dissolved in beer (all carbonated drinks) is directly related to temp, with warmer temps increasing the rate that carbon dioxide is released. So what does this mean? Drinking a beer on a hot day results in the beer going flat fairly quickly.
The colder the beer the higher the carbonation level is maintained and results in the CO2 being released slower. As carbon dioxide slowly bubbles to the surface it carries along aromas as well as provides a refreshing acidity to the palate that will help mask bitterness.
Simple formula: Optimal temp beer = more flavors & aroma
“I would like to THANK: Randy Mosher, Joe Vogelbacher, Mark Dredge, Joshua Austin, Jeff Alworth, Joanna Postlethwaite & Matt Kirkegaard for their expert advice”
Jesse is Director for Pedal Chile, and lives in Valdivia, Chile. Jesse has a Master of Science in Health & Human Performance and is an outdoor & beer enthusiast and home-brewer (often times with Joshua Austin)
more beer articles from Pedal Chile:
References:
Alworth, J. (2015). The beer bible : the essential beer lover’s guide. New York: Workman Publishing.
Arnold, D. (2014). Liquid intelligence : the art and science of the perfect cocktail. New York, Ny: W.W. Norton & Company.
Mosher, R. (2017). Tasting Beer : an Insider’s Guide to the World’s Greatest Drink. Storey Publishing, Llc.
Trantham, M. (2018). BREWING SCIENCE : a multidisciplinary approach.