Friday, August 29, 2008

By HOLLY RAMER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

last updated: July 09, 2008 11:40:29 AM

His friends may call him a snob, and waitresses may give him odd looks, but David Turley isn't about to drink a beer with chunks of ice floating in it.

But that's what can happen at restaurants that insist on serving his favorite beverage in icy mugs. And so Turley has no qualms about insisting upon another, unfrosted, glass.

"I'm pretty passionate about it," says Turley, a 50-year-old information technology worker from Fredericksburg, Va. "The first thing I look at in a restaurant is the beer menu. I consider it a food."

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page are even more finicky. The husband-wife authors of "What to Drink With What You Eat" have been known to whip out a pen-sized infrared thermometer to check the temperature of their wine before imbibing.

"Temperature is far more important than it typically gets credit as being when it comes to flavor," Dornenburg says. "Twenty or even 10 degrees can make an enormous difference in how the exact same wine tastes. A wine that was thin and 'hot' at room temperature tastes much 'rounder' and fruitier at 5 or 10 degrees lower."

Here's what some beverage experts say about the optimum temperatures for a variety of drinks, and the most common mistakes people make.

BEER

Most beer is served too cold, says Sang Yoon, a beer sommelier, chef and owner of Father's Office in Santa Monica.

But with most mainstream beers — the stuff produced by the major brand brewers — cold is fine. "Those don't have a huge aroma profile, so you can drink 'em really cold and you're not missing out on anything," Yoon says.

Aromatic beers that are brewed with more ingredients — pale ales for example --should be served around 40 to 42 degrees, while beers with big flavor, such as Belgian ales, don't release their aromas until they hit about 50 degrees.

WINE

Wine often is served at the wrong temperature, says Natalie MacLean, editor of a wine newsletter and author of "Red, White and Drunk All Over," which explores how wine is made, marketed, matched with food and consumed.

"Too cold, and a wine's complexity and aromas are numbed; too hot, and it tastes alcoholic and flabby," she says.

The old advice about serving reds at "room temperature" comes from the days when the "room" in question was a drafty medieval castle, she says, not today's toasty, centrally heated homes.

Red wine should be served at about 60 degrees, though some light reds, such as beaujolais, are better served cooler, she says. White wine should be chilled to about 55 degrees; the glass should feel cool but not ice-cold.

Dornenburg and Page drill down further, suggesting 40 to 50 degrees for Champagne and other dry or sweet sparkling wines, 45 to 55 degrees for dry whites and rosés, and 55 to 60 degrees for other white wines.

When in doubt, check the label: Many bottles indicate the optimal serving temperature.

LIQUOR

There's a bit more leeway when it comes to hard liquor and mixed drinks.

Tricia Crighton of the Gin and Vodka Association of Great Britain says gin- and vodka-based drinks generally are served chilled, usually on ice, to emphasize the fresh taste.

"The dry martini should be very cold," she says.

Though cocktails historically have been enjoyed well-chilled, a new generation of bar chefs and mixologists are creating more complex cocktails whose flavors are best enjoyed slightly warmer, Page and Dornenburg say.

"While very well-chilled cocktails will help to hide the sensation of heat that runs down your throat when drinking a high-alcohol cocktail, today's best-made cocktails are not overly alcoholic, so they can be enjoyed slightly less cold," says Dornenburg.

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