Yeah, warm beer is pretty common. I've had cask beer that comes out slightly warm and pretty much without carbonation. It's a totally different experience. I'd say most people probably don't drink beer (certain ones at least) at the proper temperature. I know when I buy certain microbrews they recommend serving it at certain temperatures, yet I rarely follow the instructions because it's too much of a pain.
Regarding the speakeasy idea...I think this is actually starting to become fairly common in cities. I know New Orleans had one and we even have one here in Wilmington, DE. If we have one here, you know it's caught on. Anyway, it's actually probably my favorite style of bar in the area. Every other bar is a shitty faux Irish pub which lack any kind of character and prefer to serve cheap Miller Lite. The place (called "
Hummingbird to Mars"), serves $10 cocktails, but also $3 Yuenglings....So, you can go for one expensive drink and then sip on some beers in a relaxed and not loud environment. Anyway, they kind of have a "password system", but it's pretty simple. You have to know where the place is and knock on the door, or once you have their business card, you just call them. They limit occupancy to 50 or something, but the first time we went pretty much nobody was there so I'm not sure they'll have that problem yet.