Last week I talked about the importance of glassware. Tonight, IÂ’m going to step it up a notch and explain why a good head on a beer is important and how to pour beer to get a proper head.

I’ve had multiple conversations with people that involve around how much head should a beer have? A beer being poured into a glass should have about a 1 to 1.5 inch head. Of course what usually follows is, “why?” There is a twofold reason as to why you want the beer to have a head. One is that it directly impacts the scent and flavor, the second is just aesthetics.

Head forms on a beer when air and turbulence is introduced into the body as it is being poured. It releases the Carbon Dioxide, or in the cases of beers such as Guinness Nitrogen, causing the beer to foam up. The head releases the natural aromatics of the beer, helping you to smell them better. These scents then, in turn have an effect on the taste. Also the head washing across the tongue has a direct impact on the mouthfeel of the beer. Is it creamy, effervescent, does it bite the tongue? These all have a direct impact on how much you, the drinker, enjoy the beer.

The secondary impact of the head is the aesthetics. Think about all the beer commercials you see on TV, they show the beer being poured into a glass, with just a touch running down the side of the glass. It looks cool, crisp and refreshing. Most people do not want to see a beer that has no head on it, it looks flat and unappealing. If it has too much head it looks like it is over carbonated or that you are going to be drinking foam before you get to the beer. Marketing companies have spent a lot of time researching to figure out what looks most appealingÂ… just think on it.

So how do you get “the perfect head”? First you have to start with your glassware. See, I told you it was important. Try to get the best glass for the type of beer you’re drinking. Make sure it is clean. You don’t want any residue of anything inside the glass that can alter the flavor. This includes detergent, oils, food particles, dust, residue of previous beers, ETC. Whether you are pouring from a tapper or a bottle the rest remains true:

1) Hold the glass at a 45 degree angle.
2) Pour the beer aiming for the middle of the glass.
3) When the beer gets to about the halfway point, return the glass to the upright position, continuing to pour in the center of the glass.

4) Keep an eye on the head. If you are getting too much, decrease the rate of the pouring. If you are getting too little, donÂ’t be afraid to be more aggressive and pour harder. Some beers, like lambics and English bitters have difficulty forming head and need to be poured more aggressively. On the other hand, your standard American Pilsners (Miller, Budweiser, Busch, Coors, Etc) can create too much head of agitated, so you may need to pour slowly.

As a word of warning, if you are drinking a beer that is known for its yeast, you may want to pay attention to your pour so that you donÂ’t accidently pour the active yeast into the glass. Unless you like it that way, and there is nothing wrong with it.

Viola! ItÂ’s as easy as that.

HereÂ’s to a perfectly chilled beer in your future!

Posted by: Contagion at 05:12 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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I may not be able to do the beer reviews right now, but they will return, probably sometime mid to late October. No date guaranteed! Until then to keep up with my beer street cred IÂ’m going to keep up with beer related posts on Wednesday. Starting with this one which was actually sent to me originally by frequent commenter Mark back in July. I sent him a response at that time, but now IÂ’m doing a post for all to see.

His question to me was: What is your take on (the Sam Adams specialty glass).

I actually own one of these glasses. IÂ’ve had it since June 11th those of you that know me, know how I got it, but IÂ’m not saying. IÂ’ve used this glass on multiple occasions and after seeing all the brewha (lol sorry, pun intended) that the Boston Beer Company was making over these glasses, I really feel the need to pipe in on it.

First off, I take glassware for beer very seriously. Anyone that has been to one of my parties, a bar or to my home will vouch for that. I have an extensive collection of glass ware. I have everything from different styles of glasses to pint glasses with different logos on it. At my New Years Eve party I always give out complimentary glassware every year for the visitors to keep. Each year itÂ’s a different style. At the beer tasting, I give out a packet of information IÂ’ve put together regarding beer, one of the sections is glassware. Which I took from Beer AdvocateÂ’s Beer 101 section Glassware for Beer (Best glassware reference section IÂ’ve found)

IÂ’m not going to double up and repeat a lot of their work. Go read what they have to say about glassware. I will, however, throw in my opinion. Glassware is important to your beer experience. Beer is much more than just drinking it for the alcohol effect. If that is what you are doing, go get a case of Natural Light in cans and enjoy. If you want to truly enjoy a new beer, you need to drink it from a glass. A glass will let you see the color, pouring it forms a head which opens up the flavor and scents enhancing the taste. The proper glass for the style of beer you are drinking can have an effect. If you are drinking a beer from a bottle, you are not getting the full experience.

With all that being said, let us get back to the subject on hand, The Samuel Adams’ “Perfect Pint Glass”. The glass holds 16 fl oz. This is fine if you are pouring your beer from a 12 oz bottle. It gives you a good four ounces for a proper head. However, if you are drinking from a tap or a pint bottle, you need an empirical pint glass of 20 fl oz. Since Sam Adams obviously wants you to drink their beer, and they only bottle in 12 oz, they made the glass the appropriate size for them and the majority of other beers on the market.

The shape of the glass is like a combination of a standard pub glass (like the Miasmatic Review Enabler glass, itÂ’s a type of pint glass) and a tulip glass. According to the informational website they have all kinds of information as to why the glass is shaped the way it is. IÂ’ll be honest; IÂ’m not sure how much accuracy is in what they say. ItÂ’s almost like two execs for the company were talking up their favorite glassware and decided to come up with their own based on non-scientific opinion. I know they claim to use Sensory Experts to help design the glass, IÂ’m just not sure how accurate what they claim is true. ItÂ’s not my area of expertise.

With that being said, I did what all good beer drinkers do, I ran some experimentsÂ…. By drinking beer (back in July).

I drank three different types of beer out of this glass to see if there was a noticeable difference. I compared these three to the same out of a regular pint. I did one beer a night with a pallet cleanser between the Sam AdamsÂ’ glass and the standard pint. The beers used for the experiment were Miller Lite (shut it!), Sam AdamsÂ’ Blackberry Wheat and St. PeterÂ’s Cream Stout.

I came to the following conclusion. There was no noticeable difference between the Sam AdamsÂ’ glass and my Miasmatic Review Enabler Glass. The scents, flavor and overall drinking experience was not enhanced or diminished by drinking from the special glass.

Overall, in my opinion, if you just wanted the glass to add to your collection like I did, go for it. It is a unique looking glass and is a conversation piece. If you were planning to buy one, or already did because you thought it would enhance your beer drinking experience, I think you will be sadly disappointed.

Mark, I hope that answers your questionÂ… and then some.

If you have an beer related questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

HereÂ’s to a perfectly chilled beer in your future.

Posted by: Contagion at 10:06 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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