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letting your beer air out

all grain

Grandmaster Brewer
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Ok we have all hear of letting a bottle of wine set open before you pour and drink, but what about some beers. I have just opened a porter that is by the calendar, ready to drink. the first taste was not that great, but after 20 minutes in the glass it seamed to taste a little better. now this porter is not what I would call one of my better beers and I believe the yeast I used to make it may have been kind of tired out. the main fermentation took 8 days where I normally get down to terminal grav in 5 days thus causing some off flavor imo. the sg was 1.060 with 1.010 fg. any ways when I leave a glass set open for awhile it tastes better then when it is first opened. Any thoughts?     
 
I've noticed the same thing and suspect the improvement is because of the temperature.

I keep my freezer at 34F because I'm lagering as well as serving from it. But, I use room-temp mugs (80F - I live in Florida) and let my beer warm for a while. Those Brits and their "warm" beer aren't actually so crazy after all.
 
durrettd is dead on with his temperature statement.

I've done blind tastings for my friends.  I've poured the exact same beer into two different glasses (one frosted and one room temperature).  They almost always like the flavor of the room temperature glass better.

There is a reason for this.  When temperatures are below 55F, the human taste buds have difficulty tasting maltiness.  When a malty beer is made well and is balanced, it will taste best at 55F or higher.  If you put it in a frosted glass, as you drink, the liquid is thinner at the top, and as the glass is tilted to take a sip and it takes the beer temperature down too much for your taste buds to have the ability to detect the full range of flavors.  Once the beer has sat in the glass for a while (even a frosted one), it will eventually warm up enough to allow you to taste the full range of flavors and the beer comes into balance, at least as far as your taste buds are concerned.

This begs the question, why do commercial mass brewed beers (Bud, Bud Light, Millers, Coors, etc) taste better ice cold?  Then answer is that there is very little malt or hop flavors to get out of balance, so the flavor is dead on, no matter how warm or cold they are.  Thus, ice cold is better with those beers, because ice cold is great.

If you want to be able to enjoy your porter ice cold, you can brew it extremely malty, and it will taste best at ice cold temperatures.  However, as it warms up in the glass, it will not taste as good as it did when it was ice cold.
 
A lot of beers are meant to be drunk at cellar temps 45F - 50F.  When my family comes over from Germany they let there beers sit till the have warmed up.  A couple of them say that only American beers should be served ice cold, you have to kill that flavor some how!!
 
Oxygen is always bad for beer and staling happens instantly.  Additionally, aromatics in many craft / homebrew styles will dissipate quickly leaving you without the full aromatic and taste experience.  All beers have good enjoying temperatures.  on draft, I often cover my beer with something glass or ceramic to trap the aromatics as I let it come up in temperature.  I will usually put bottles on the counter and let them rise before opening.

Cheers!
 
thanks all for your advice. It's appreciated.
 
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