The Perfect Pour

Here are a few tips that will help you with the perfect pour. Hopefully you have followed along our Beer 101 Series, and by now you are ready for some liquid refreshment. You deserve to get the most out of your beer, and by following these guidelines you can be sure of a great beer pouring every time.

The Perfect Beer Pour

1 – Begin by choosing your beer. Whether from a keg, in a can, or in a bottle, the steps for achieving the perfect pour will remain the same. Some beer styles create more head than others, such as a wheat beer, and this should be taken into account when visualizing your ideal beer. Refer back to our Beer style guide for more information.

2 – Select the correct type of glassware for your chosen beer style. Yes, this makes a huge difference! Different beers styles are meant to be enjoyed and enhanced in different ways. The elongated shape of a tulip glass maintains the head of more effervescent beers, such as pale ales, for example. Our Beer Glassware Guide will help you in this regard as you grow your beer knowledge and elevate your beer drinking experience.

3 – Make sure that glass is clean. A very important detail. Any dirt or material in the glass can trap microbes, which will then affect the flavor of your beer. Maintaining clean glassware will help you maximize the true flavor of the beer that you are about to enjoy.

4 – When you begin pouring, hold the glass at a 45 degree angle. Either with the bottle/can over the glass, or with the glass in front of the tap system. Letting the beer pour into the middle of the glass helps control too much foam from filling the glass too early in the pour.

*Important note: do not let the beer tap, or bottle, or can, touch the glass or the beer within. Again, any bacteria or microbes that may be on the outside of a bottle or on a tap should be kept away from your beer, and so reduce the risk of off flavors.

5 – When your glass is halfway full, begin to turn the glass upright. This will create a light fluffy head, and will help allow the aromatics of the beer to become more prominent.

6 – Aim for around one inch of head. Most beers styles will achieve around one inch of head. Wheat beers will have a little more, domestic lagers will have a little less, but for a Beer 101 guide, one inch is a good average to have in mind.

7 – Enjoy! You now have the beer pouring skills to add to your knowledge that you have picked up throughout the Beer 101 Series.

Perfect Beer Pouring Guide

Cheers!

by Bottleneck Management.

The Beer 101 Series

1. What is Beer?
2. The Brewing Process
3. Types of Beer
4. Types of Beer Glasses
5. The Perfect Pour