There is absolutely nothing like the cool, crisp sensation of drinking your favorite cheap beer out of an ice cold mug on the hottest day of the summer. However, if you just paid $10 for an 11 ounce bottle of Belgian beer, you may want to be able to taste your sensory investment. The colder the beer is, the less aromatics will emerge from it. Since our sense of smell is tied into our sense of taste, this will have a huge impact in the sensory receptors of our brain. The cold temperature on our tongue will also worsen the issue because it will numb the taste buds. Therefore, drink your lagers cold (40°-45°F) and your ales cool (45°-50°F). That is unless you are trying to mute the flavor of a less than acceptable beer or one that is too strong for your liking. Now this doesn't mean that when you drink a beer you need a bottle opener and a thermometer! If your fridge is set to 40°F and you pour an ale into a room temperature glass, that beer will quickly be at the appropriate serving temperature. For lagers, try keeping those bottles towards the bottom of the fridge where it is a little bit colder. You could even store you lager glasses in the fridge which would be more ideal. However, if I was a guest in your home, I would gratefully accept a beer in whatever you served it in!