THERE is nothing more refreshing and thirst-quenching than a mug of chilled beer. At the Church Street Cafe in Church Street, Penang, you can go further and get a mug of ice-cold Snow Beer. Manager Alice Chuah said it was the only place in town serving beer this novel way. Everything must be handled just right. First, the bottles of beer are chilled to the optimum temperature – too cold and there is a risk of the bottles shattering as the contents “explode”. If it’s not cold enough, the beer doesn’t “ice up” like it should. At this little pub-cum-eatery, there is a special refrigerator to keep the beer at a constant cold temperature. The mugs must also be chilled until they frost up as soon as they are brought out and make contact with humid, warm air. After that, it requires a steady hand from the experienced bar staff to pour the beer carefully into the glass, which whitens immediately into an almost solid body of foam which in turn slowly transforms into amber liquid – a process that takes two to three minutes. This is the famous Snow Beer which is very popular with the customers.