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Who will be drinking the beer with you? Where will you be drinking it? What kind of beer?

Most American beer is best served cold (from a cold refrigerator or ice chest-NO ice within the beer; it ruins the taste). With imported beer...many dark ales and other dark beers taste best at room temperature. Lagers of any nationality taste best cold. Some Asian beer actually needs warmed for optimum flavor-and tends to be served in Asian type bowls or cups without handles.

As for how to serve beer-at an in-house party, in glasses, or at least provide them. For laid-back BBQ's or beach picnics...come on. Provide a few "cuzies" (however those rubbery can/bottle holders are spelled) to keep the beer cold in the container.

There again, though, it depends upon whom you are serving. If you are having your country friends over even to an in-house party, most will refuse a glass. So? Let them enjoy their beer the way they like it. Make sure it's cold; this crowd won't want anything except American beer, and all pale lagers at that. Not even honey-wheat will be get many takers.

If you ask your small-brewery or beer connoisseur friends over to an outdoor barbecue, I'd provide glasses and let them decide. A few of these may actually bring their own trophy pub glasses along with them.

For beach parties...I would personally abandon the glasses and make sure there are cuzies, but I guess that's up to you. If yours is a champaign-on-a-picnic type crowd, you may want glasses. For picnic wine events, I love the really nice plastic wine glasses available; unfortunately, there are no decent plastic beer glasses...and to my mind, drinking direct from a can or bottle is preferable to regular plastic cups.

Whatever beer you serve, do know the temperature at which it tastes best. Provide glasses whenever possible, but don't expect everyone to want one. Go with the flow-and hey! Enjoy the brew!

Learn more about this author, Margaret Shauers.
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