How to Pour Beer
Photograph from Tambako the Jaguar on Flickr
If you're content drinking beer out of a can or bottle, or think the foam at the top of a glass of beer is wasted space, you're doing it wrong. Adam Jadhav of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explains how to pour beer so you get the most head (foam) and why you should do it—because pouring and foam release the beer's aroma. "Our tongues are far more limited than our noses in sensory perception," Jadhav says. Make sure you use a clean, room temperature glass, and don't tilt it when you pour in the beer.
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11 Comments:
Ha! I am vindicated! I learned this on a brewery tour a few years ago and people REFUSE to believe me. They think I just don't know how to pour beer. I'm copy/pasting this link as we speak, thanks!
embolini9 at 3:30PM on 07/01/09
am i wrong to say i don't really care if it's incorrect to tilt? slurping up 3 inches of foam is TOTALLY unsatisfying when you're getting ready to enjoy a cold beer. i'm also guilty of putting my pint glasses in the freezer--SO LOVELY after a long day of work ;)
laurbelle2 at 4:04PM on 07/01/09
I am guilty of frosty glasses too. But I swear it makes beers taste better on a hot & humid day!
mmmm, I love Schlafly beer...
hmw0029 at 4:37PM on 07/01/09
i never liked the whole foam thing. I know its the "right way" to do it, but i want to enjoy my beer right then and there, not sit around for 5 minutes waiting for it to become drinkable. And although there are people out there that are beer foodies and really into the craft beer scene, i'm not one of them. My pilsner or wheat beer does not need to be swirled, slurped, and swished like a fine wine.
mh330 at 4:54PM on 07/01/09
the only beer i let sit to settle is guiness. otherwise i'm a frosty mugged tilter.
with all due respect that guy sounds like an idiot.
gastronomeg at 4:58PM on 07/01/09
"It also takes some of the CO2 sharpness, bite and gas out of your beer for a better drinking experience"
sorry, i actually LIKE beer that isn't flat. i understand this guy's point but i'm gonna stick with a reasonable head, regardless of whether he thinks it makes for a worse drinking experience. of course, i usually drink beer when i'm in the mood for refreshment so i don't think i'm the intended audience for this piece. also, i would assume that this is all common knowledge for most beer drinkers, nothing esoteric here.
sloppy at 5:09PM on 07/01/09
Um...hey Serious Eats? I've been a pouring beers for oh, about five years now. How 'bout you stop telling us how to plate our food/drinks and let us do it however we feel comfortable with?
among the beer enthusiast community, foam is a hotly debated topic; "you want the largest head possible will get you, aside from a few sophomoric giggles, angry glares from about half of the room, because it's an individual decision, and everyone is different; I prefer about half an inch; my buddy prefers around 2, 3 maybe, inches. neither of us is wrong, and we both appreciate good beer in our own way.
rasellers0 at 8:52PM on 07/01/09
@rasellers0: I guess I shouldn't be speaking for Serious Eats because I don't even drink beer. But then that's why I found the article interesting; until reading it, I had no idea why you might want to pour beer into a cup, out or why there should be foam. For the unlearned like me, it's new info. Of course, drink beer however you like the most. :P
roboppy at 10:26PM on 07/01/09
I go half-way. Definitely not much of a glass-tilter, but I'm not a fan of having to wait for half a glass of foam to settle before drinking my beer either. A 1.5" layer is about right for me.
shoneyjoe at 2:29AM on 07/02/09
It really depends on the beer that your drinking. And like any food you should serve or pour beer the way you like and not worry about what's "proper".
bobbob at 11:02AM on 07/02/09
The "tilt the glass" thing is over simplified. Pouring straight to the bottom of the glass will with many highly carbonated styles create more foam than beer in the glass. An initial tilt enables you to control the amount of head that you produce. That said head is a part of the aroma experience but some styles, such as Barleywine, Imperial Stout and Scotch Ale, produce almost no foam no matter how hard you try. That is why those styles are often put into a snifter to concentrate the aroma.
Bunnyman at 1:07PM on 07/03/09