Beer: Warm or Cold? Your Choice
Would you prefer an ice cold beer or a warm beer?
My answer: I would prefer an ice cold beer.
But do you know that 100 centuries ago, beer were served hot? Ther wasn’t any refrigerators around, so anyone that served frigid beer would assumed that it was negligently left out in the cold. Well, beer was drunk hot from the beginning.
At the dawn of civilization, beer was served at ambient temperature, later, it was cellared to barely cooled and for several centuries in between, piping hot was the temperature of choice. It was easy to find hot beer and it was fashion of the day. Drinkers lapped it up in staggering quantities. Not that they prefer their beer to be hot, but they were convinced that it was good for them. Mulled beer was considered an aid to healthy living.
In 1641, this fellow Henry Overton came up with “Warme Beere.” It was said that consumption of heated beer and ale was far more wholesome than that which is drunk cold.” Overton’s claim was based on a popular of human physiology that believed the stomach was ruled by two “master-qualities” of heat and dryness. Drinking cold beer was thought to put the two in turmoil, upsetting anything from digestion to vaporous humors.
Most famous of the hot, spiced beers was Dr. Butler’s Ale. Dr. Butler’s Ale considered beer an excellent stomach drink which helps in digestion. No only that, it dissolved congealed phlegm upon the lungs and is considered good against colds, coughs, ptisical and consumptive distempers. Being drunk in the evening fortified nature, caused good rest and hugely corroborated the brain and memory. Healthful benefits though.
The actual basis for drinking warm beer was simple. In the days before refrigeration beer was commonly served, during summer, both cellar and serving temperatures crept upward, but tavern keepers never gave it a second thought. In the winter time, warm beer was equally expected and welcomed. Interior heating of those days may have been inadequate but a hot tankard provided a pleasant and comforting distraction. It added variety to a difficult and mundane lifestyle, and mulled ale further soothed the colonial spirits because warming facilitated a quicker absorption of the alcohol.
Heating beer was also considered necessary because of the dominance of homebrew. Frequent use of substandard ingredients, combined with questionable brewing equipment and techniques, made most home brewed beer unpalatable. Additions of spices and warming the beer increased its appeal, and if scorched, sugars caramelized, thereby adding a more gentle roundness.
As in Europe, drinking warm ale was a convention that settlers brought with them to colonial shores.
Typical recipes for mulled beer called for first infusing the herbs and spices in hot water, cooling, straining, and then adding the ‘liquor’ along with sugar, and sometimes cream and beaten eggs. The entire mixture was then heated again, often with a glowing poker drawn from the hot coals of a fire.
Simplest of the mulled beers was ‘Aleberry’ made by heating beer to boiling, then adding sugar, spices, and topping all with floating sops of bread. No one set of spices was recommended, that was left to individual taste.
Lambswool was another common drink. Popular in the 1700’s, preparation began by first roasting several apples until the skins burst. Strong, old ale was heated, into which nutmeg, ginger and sugar were thoroughly blended. Finally, the apples were immersed in the heated beer immediately before serving.
Most well known of all the mulled beers was Wassail. Recipes for this holiday favorite vary, but all were based upon the same basic formula. Sugar was placed in the bottom of a bowl, one pint of warm beer was then poured in along with nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon. After all ingredients were infused the mixture was allowed to stand for several hours. When ready to serve it was heated and topped with several thin slices of toast.
Hot beer drinks were plentiful in old inns and taverns, but as the 19th century progressed, mulled beers faded from view. Equal responsibility for its demise came from the introduction of lager beer and the advent of artificial refrigeration. Lager beer was brewed to drink cold, and refrigeration made its production possible anywhere, and rather than brewing only in cooler months, brewers could make it year-round. Americans responded by enthusiastically embracing light, crisp, ice cold lagers pouring out of breweries. In the process, heated ales became ‘old-fashion’ and quickly disappeared.
Should mulled beer remain buried in history? Clean, well made, flavorful beers may have eliminated the need for spice additions and heating, but the reemergence of holiday releases and other spiced brews is a call from the past.
Listen to your beer drinking heritage. Malty, low-hopped beers eagerly welcome light spicing of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, honey, and brown sugar. Winter ales patiently wait for mulling, and fruit beers offer even more possibilities.
Colder months are perfect for hot beer drinks, they warm both the body and soul, adding a festive glow to the holidays. John Bickerdyke may have said it best, “If there is one season of the year more appropriate than another to hot beer-cups, be they Wassail Bowls, Lambswool, Flip or Mulled Ale, it is Christmas.”
Still, I prefer my beer to be ice cold.
August 27th, 2009 at 15:17
How to drink warm beer wor!?!?!? Take one sip will feel like puking liao lor!!! -_-”
August 28th, 2009 at 06:53
This may seem strange but I couldn’t see the image above, I am using FireFox 2. anyways, what I read was very good and I enjoyed it. I was thinking about print it out, do I have permission to do that?
August 28th, 2009 at 11:36
Tamy – Many many many many years ago, they drank beer hot what. =.-
August 29th, 2009 at 22:47
Discount Elavil…
An interesting post by a bloger made me ……