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Yerm_Terragon t1_ism04ne wrote

This was also the case for a large amount of Europe, and good amount of it would melt before reaching its destination.

Actually because of this, putting ice in drinks never took off in Europe the same way it did in America. This is why most parts of Europe prefer their drinks served at room temperature, whereas North America prefers cold drinks.

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TommyBoy825 t1_ism57pz wrote

I always heard the Brits drank their beer at room temperature because they had Lucas refrigerators.

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Minuted t1_ism7i7o wrote

As a brit I have no idea where this idea that we drink beer at room temperature comes from. Pretty much any beer you buy in a pub will be colder than room temp.

Maybe it just took longer to catch on here?

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stevesmittens t1_ismiqx9 wrote

It's an out of date stereotype, that said in North America they would never advertise a beer tap as "extra cold", whereas that is a thing I've seen in the UK. Also cask ales are traditionally served at room temperature.

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[deleted] t1_isne0wf wrote

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Relevant_Monstrosity t1_isp3r0e wrote

Budweiser isn't really that bad. I for one like the rice flavor in the lager. It's got a unique taste that not everyone loves. And that's ok. It's not even the cheapest on the market.

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[deleted] t1_isndw83 wrote

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goshdammitfromimgur t1_isnjipr wrote

I like the colour/color changing Coors labels.

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Robot_Tanlines t1_iso8pus wrote

I think that came from Europe. In college I had a friend from Poland, she was drinking some Polish beer that did it years before the US started advertising it.

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stevesmittens t1_isnvnbb wrote

I'm talking about the temperature of the tap being specifically labelled as cold. Not the "ice cold" branding on the bottle or can, which is really just a matter of what temperature your fridge is.

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[deleted] t1_iso9bki wrote

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stevesmittens t1_isp6lyo wrote

My point is in America there are no cold/extra cold taps because ice cold is the default (at least in the days before craft beer became popular). British labelling implies the existence of different serving temperatures, e.g. extra cold for lagers, warmer for ales. At least that's how I remember it from when I lived there like 15 years ago.

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YurtYurtBaby t1_isnsn3p wrote

Wrong, cask ales are served at cellar temperature.

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stevesmittens t1_isnvx1g wrote

Fine, but not "cold", which I'm pretty sure has a lot to do with the stereotype, going back to when that style of beer was more common in the UK (and non-existent in North America).

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canman7373 t1_ismmv0o wrote

Isn't it at cellar Temps? Beer was and some still is pumped from an underground cellar that is naturally cooler.

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NativeMasshole t1_ismyazl wrote

That's what I thought too. Which isn't too weird to me as an American either. Especially if it's dark beer, I don't even want that ice cold.

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canman7373 t1_ismznmv wrote

When I was last there most pubs had just a few on tap at cellar temp, local beers. But rest were normally cooled, they even had "Ice Cold Guinness" in many places, which was just colder than normal Guinness as far as I could tell. But yeah were plenty of beers not served cold, but also not room temp.

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Targettio t1_isn82q7 wrote

Cask ales are 'cellar' temperature, which is below room temperature, but not actively chilled (similar to the ideal red wine temperature).

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TocTheEternal t1_ismhcf3 wrote

I think so. I had British friends growing up (in California in the 90s/early 00s) and drinking room temperature beer was something they were familiar with (though not a fan of). But by the time I visited Britain myself (2010) their pubs were as refrigerated as I would expect in America. I'm guessing that it was already well out of the norm by the 90s at the latest.

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TTBrandyThief t1_isn3s0f wrote

Look up cask ales. They were the traditional style of beer in England.

I personally enjoy them, but it is a noticeable change of pace.

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Historical-Fox1372 t1_isnq2zx wrote

It's bizarre. I haven't had a warm beer in any country. Also a bit like how people think Aussies drink Foster's. You can't find Fosters anywhere here.

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Lostboxoangst t1_ismfa1p wrote

I saw somthing about this in asterisk the Gaul once that we like warm beer?

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ChevExpressMan t1_ism5w4g wrote

Same with Australia during war years. Personally, I've had beer warm and cold. Warm hits you like a ton of bricks. Cold takes longer.

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So_be t1_isnrvrz wrote

Oh hail mighty Prince of Darkness. Fun fact, Joseph Lucas was the patent holder for the short circuit…

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breecher t1_isnictm wrote

> This is why most parts of Europe prefer their drinks served at room temperature, whereas North America prefers cold drinks.

This is absolute nonsense though.

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sioux612 t1_iso9quf wrote

I could see the part with icecubes not being as popular in Europe as they are in NA because of that but yeah, Europe doesn't prefer warm drinks

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Some_Inspector3638 t1_isoapin wrote

Then why do they drink warm drinks?

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sioux612 t1_isoaxcx wrote

Because coffee and tea are better when warm and without a shitload of sugar?

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Hammer7000 t1_ism7uus wrote

Never in my life have i heard about a person wanting their drink room temperature lol

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heppot t1_isnozif wrote

I like to put my water in the microwave for a minute before I drink it.
Nice warm water, nothing is better. /S

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t3hmau5 t1_ismantr wrote

I get australia...but why did Europe have issued with ice?

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PublicSeverance t1_isnkg4e wrote

Ice used to be dirty with soil, sawdust, pollution or poor hygiene.

European ice harvesters would store the ice in in underground pits for insulation. The melting ice water picked up dirt and covered the blocks. Or the blocks were covered in saw dust for insulation.

Americans stored their ice above ground in huts. When the ice water melted it dropped out the base and benefit was creating an evaporative cooling effect.

Both types of harvested ice were good for refrigerators, or cool rooms, making ice cream, but only the American style ice was good for mixed drinks.

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Yerm_Terragon t1_ismbdec wrote

Well, first a guy had to convince people that drinks tasted better with ice in them. That same guy also tried to transport ice across the ocean. So he had a limited amount of time to try and sell a limited amount of ice and hope it would catch on. It wasnt that Europe didnt like ice, it was just an inconvenience to get it there

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t3hmau5 t1_ismfja1 wrote

I more mean climate wise Europe should have been capable of their own ice production if they wanted it. No?

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Yerm_Terragon t1_ismhohm wrote

They did, but the guy trying to convince people to put ice in their drinks could only harvest it from North America.

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t3hmau5 t1_ismiazt wrote

As a cold beverage lover I salute the efforts of that one dude, apparently a revolutionary!

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TWiesengrund t1_ismivx8 wrote

That's a pretty US-centric view. Ice has been used in drinks on a larger scale since the 16th century but mostly for the rich feudal class. The Alps were a big trade center for that but of course nothing like what we got in the 19th century. It only really took off with early industrialization but it was a known commodity before.

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plytheman t1_isp9d0m wrote

I think there's a few story lines getting crossed here. I can't speak to the OP comment about North America creating the trend of iced drinks in Europe, but it seems like Frederick Tudor and the resulting ice industry was pretty influential in promoting ice in cocktails, etc.

From New England Historical Society:

>Frederic Tudor expanded his business to Charleston, Savannah and New Orleans, developing new sales techniques along the way.

>He gave bartenders free ice for a year after teaching them how to keep it frozen in a ‘refrigerating jar’ and how to make cocktails like the Smash. He sold ice to Havana coffee shop owners and the keeper of the Tivoli Gardens after teaching them how to make ice cream.

Also:

>Between 1844 and the early 1850s, the remarkably pure ice from Wenham Lake in Massachusetts became a fashionable luxury among the British aristocracy. The best London hotels put up signs advertising Wenham ice. It was said you could read a newspaper through a block of Wenham Lake ice two feet thick.

>Wenham ice inspired the popularity of cocktails like sherry cobblers and mint juleps in London. No fancy dinner party was complete without it, and Queen Victoria insisted on it.

>A competitor to Frederic Tudor, the Wenham Lake Ice Co., had promoted the stuff.

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b0nz1 t1_iso5vuq wrote

That sounds absolutely ridiculous and 100% made up.

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Yerm_Terragon t1_iso7u0y wrote

Yeah, it does. Thats because we arent too keen these days on teaching social history.

Refrigerators only started to become commonplace 100 years ago. Before that we had to use ice boxes to keep things like meat and dairy cold, and those didnt even exist for 100 years before that point. So, you have to think that we are talking about 200-300 years before household refrigeration methods would even exist. We couldnt just make ice, we had to get it from somewhere it already was. Remember the opening scene from Frozen where they sawed ice blocks out of a lake? Not just done for a cool scene, ice harvesting use to be an actual profession. Then you just need to acknowledge that Canada is the largest landmass that will have year round ice, so thats where they got it from.

Sounds a lot more believable now, doesnt it?

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