jrclark
Silver Member
Guinness has to be frosty cold or a person can't stand to chew and swallow the stuff. Sapporo, Red Barron, Waterloo Dark and Steam Whistle.
It's been my experience that most of the darker beers (browns and tripels are my absolute favorites) are best when closer to room temperature. The entire idea of drinking a good beer is to enjoy the flavor, and that can be hard to do when the beer is overly cold and closes off your taste buds. Hoppy beers are usually best somewhere between ice cold and room temp for my likings. Just depends on what the particular beer.
I've become somewhat of a beer snob these days, and will only buy good beers to stock the fridge. If the occasion arises where mass-produced domestic beers are the only option, then I prefer them to be ice cold.
To the OP, if you are interested in full bodied ales or browns, try to locate a place that has Caldera. They are a reasonably small brewery in Oregon and offer some outstanding beers. Their Amber Ale is fantastic. I will also second Troegs Troeginator for a full-bodied bock. If you have a place where you can mix and match beers, go for it. When we lived closer to Delaware we would occasionally visit Total Wine, a place that was half the size of a standard Walmart, but shelved nothing but booze. They had a great beer selection which allowed me to try many different styles and brands without the investment of a six pack or case at a time.