Beer is supposed to be kept at a given temperature for it to retain its taste
Ever wondered why a cold beer at Four Points by Sheraton tastes a lot better than a cold beer at Nalongo’s shop somewhere in the dusty back alleys of Najeera? It is not that strange a phenomenon.
Without fail, cold beer in high-end pubs always tastes better than their sisters in cheap bufundas. Which gets you wondering whether your palate is just biased and playing games with you or if fancy places are simply given the high-grade beer, leaving the rest to suffer with regular-tasting beer.
Interestingly, the same principle plays out on a countrywide scale, where it goes without saying that chilled beer in the city tastes better than chilled beer in some upcountry hang out spots.
For cold beer to taste great, it has to be chilled at a constant temperature about three degrees Celsius. No oscillations. These are not my estimations, but rather the measured words of a retired brew master I once interviewed.
Most city pubs are more likely to have constant electricity than upcountry pubs, meaning that they (city pubs) are more likely to keep their chilled beers constantly cold than in some upcountry pubs.
And secondly, even if there was to be constant electricity in any upcountry town, chances are that ta certain bartender will often switch off the fridges to minimise the yaka bill.
It also goes without saying that chances are high that a city pub will have a good quality fridge in good condition. Such a fridge is likely to chill the beer to the desired degrees than some rickety deep freezer you are likely to find in a kafunda in Kiboga.
Granted, notable upcountry pubs are often given great fridges from the big breweries but like I mentioned above, they are more likely to switch them off to save yaka than their city counterparts
Bad experience
When I travelled across the country, from Katakwi to Kalungu and many towns in between, every time I ordered a cold one, I did not get what I expected.
In fact, I was forced to switch to a warm second beer. This happened so many times that if I had taken a shot for every single time it happened, I would still be high.
Why cold beer tastes better
So why does oscillating temperatures spoil the taste of beer? Why is storage paramount to the taste of beer? To answer this, we must first find out why beer tastes great when its is chilled.
And the answer is as scientific as it gets. Beer tastes better when it is cold because of the way ethanol and water molecules interact with each other at very low temperatures. But when beer has been chilled and then it becomes warn, it tends to taste worse than beer than has never been in the fridge.
A cold beer that becomes warm again oxidizes, making it taste stale, sour or bland. Again, not my words. And it does not matter whether the said beer chilled again and served cold or not.
Once a cold beer becomes warm, even if it is served cold later, the taste never goes back to good, according to the retired brew master.
Yes, cold beer tastes a lot better than warm beer. This statement in only true in the city. Warm beer is the better taste when you are out there in Kyamuliibwa or Kyamakanda.
Do not give in to the temptation to order for a cold one when you are out there. Because chances of being disappointed are extremely high. You are welcome.
