Denton wrote:
>I hope you all remember this old joke...
>
>Question: Why do the English like warm beer?
>
>Answer: Because they all have Lucas refrigerators!
Actually, beer tastes best at the temperature at which it was fermented.
Most American beer (Budweiser, Miller, Pabst, etc etc) is Pilsner (a
form of Lager beer) which uses Lager yeast. This type of beer is
typically fermented around 33-40 deg F, thus it tastes better at that
temperature. Most English beer (traditionally, at least) is Ale, which
uses (you guessed it) Ale yeast. This type beer is typically fermented
around 50-60 deg F or warmer, and thus tastes better at those
temperatures. If you drink Lager at Ale temps, it tastes stale. If you
drink Ale at Lager temps, it loses most of its flavor. When I went to
Ireland a few years back (when I was brewing my own beer and a big fan
of stouts and dark ales), there were adverts for Budweiser *everywhere*,
from the luggage carts in the airport to the subways. When I asked a
local what their favorite beer was, he replied "Budweiser". I said
"you have got to be joking. Here you are in the home of Guiness (sp?)
and you like Bud?" and he said yes. Just goes to show, you like what
you don't have or what is new to you. For them, Guiness was the old
standard, Bud was interesting and trendy.
Soo, Denton's joke really should read:
Question: Why do the English like Ale?
Answer: Because they all have Lucas refrigerators!
:)
Cheers,
--Lee
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