Condensation On Your Beer != Good

An anonymous reader writes "Turns out that condensation on your favorite chilled beverage is a bad thing for keeping it cold. Two researchers conducted an experiment in their bathroom proving that condensation can raise the temperature of your beer by nine degrees!"

Comments

Re: wait, will wiping off help?

[pchasco]

For the most part, but I expect the droplets of water increase the surface area of your cold beer container, thereby accelerating the warming process.

Nine degrees scared me.

[Anonymous Coward]

Note to international readers: That is 9 degrees Fahrenheit. It's not as bad news for the summer days as it looks!

Beer that needs chilling is, uh, well...

[Wapiti-eater]

You chill beverage to hide the unpleasant flavors. Good beer is best served just at or slightly below room temp. Keep it in a cool, dark place - it's ready when you are. Colonials ::sigh::

Re:wait, will wiping off help?

[jones_supa]

This is true. You will taste much more of the beer when you drink it slightly warmer. Also the reason why the supermarket bulk beer contains phrases such as "drink ice cold!!" -- you can't taste how crappy it is.

Re:wait, will wiping off help?

[Tx]

Every country has its fair share of fizzy piss lager, but credit where credit is due, I was just reading about how American craft beers have inspired British brewers in recent times, so I think the days of scoffing at US beer should be over.

Re:wait, will wiping off help?

[Trepidity]

American craft beers are also quite influential in Scandinavia, among both beer drinkers and as an influence on the local brewing scene. Brooklyn Brewery is popular enough that they're opening a brewery in Stockholm to fill local demand without having to ship the beer.

Re: wait, will wiping off help?

[AlphaWolf_HK]

Actually what I think is happening is probably the opposite of evaporative cooling. When you sweat for example, it makes you cold because as the water molecules are evaporating into a gas, it takes heat energy with it.

Now condensation on the other hand results in the opposite. The heat from the water molecule is then put into the system (i.e. the glass of beer) so the water molecule sticks to it because it no longer has the energy it needed to remain in its gas form.

In which case, wiping the condensation off doesn't reduce the temperature. In fact, it might actually be counterproductive because that water is no longer there to evaporate again, resulting in the cooling effect.