BREWniversity: The Proper Pour

There are a ton of ways to pour a beer. I've been pouring down the side of a glass for years, trying to mitigate the amount of head produced.

With a domestic lager, like a High Life, this is often needed because there is a ton of head produced in those mass produced brews and honestly there isn't a ton of aroma coming off the beer. What I've come to find out though, is I was really wrong.

This is how you pour a beer the right way to release as much of the aroma and flavor as possible from the carbonation.

By the end of your pour you'll have a thick strong head that will give you awesome lacing and release a ton of great aromas.

First off, do not pour down the side of the glass. We aren't frat boys. Instead pour directly down the center of the glass. You want the head to rise up to the top of the glass.

Once it hits the top, let it dissipate down to about one inch tall. Notice the size of the bubbles at the top of the glass; they're much larger than the bubbles at the bottom of the glass by the beer.

While the larger bubbles at the top begin to pop the aroma of the beer releases into the air and a good glass will catch some of it. This is totally great for IPAs and other super aromatic brews.

Again, pour the beer directly down the center of the glass again. The larger bubbles push down on the smaller bubbles and compact them. This makes the head thicker and heartier. The more small bubbles you have, the better the overall lacing is as you drink the brew.

Allow the head to build up, and then sit while it dissipates down to an inch tall. Repeat this over and over until you're beer is full with a nice one inch of thick tight bubble fluffy head.

Yes this does take a long ass time. Yes this is probably a giant pain in the ass, but it helps. You'll notice that there are larger bubbles at the top of line of head, and smaller bubbles towards the bottom.

By pouring the beer this way we're trying to make it so there are as many little bubbles as possible, while eliminating the big bubbles. The little bubbles give you a fluffy dense head that leaves great lacing. As the larger bubbles pop aroma is released, so when you bend down to drink it hits you full in the nose.

*Remember before pouring let your beer sit standing up for about an hour for the floaties and yeast to settle. Also, leave the yeast and floaties in the bottom of the bottle or can depending on style. Most ale's you want to leave about a quarter to a half inch of beer left over in the bottom of the bottle.

Go get your drink on! Cheers