FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMON SENSE: Summer Beer On Ice? That’s Nice — Deal With It!

JOE SIXPACK: The ice can’t help but melt, which waters down the flavor of your favorite. But beer gets watered down all the time – and I’m not just talking about light beer. In most brews, the initial beer wort is diluted with additional water to adjust the density and flavor of the finished product. Adding a little more water doesn’t necessarily ruin the beer – it just changes it. Could it actually improve the flavor? You won’t know till you try. Which, in the spirit of journalistic curiosity, I did during a recent hot spell. Appropriately enough, the test beer was Heresy from Weyerbacher of Easton. This dark, rich ale is technically an imperial stout – a style that was designed to survive the cold, cold of a Russian winter. On this day, though, it was muggy and 85 degrees. I poured it into a glass over two cubes. The beer foamed as expected and, in 30 seconds, it cooled a couple of degrees. Was it ruined? Absolutely not. MORE