Comments on: How to pour a beer properly

By: Scott-TheBrewClub

Scott-TheBrewClub — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 17:06:26 +0000

As it happened, I was reading an interesting article about Ray Daniels (the guy who started the Cicerone program) and he feels that it takes two hands to pour a beer. In his mind, the proper procedure is to “hold the glass at a 45 degree angle, pour along the side, then about halfway through, tilt both glass and bottle vertical. You want an inch or so of head. If you want to be a Cicerone, you’d better know that.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/ct-sun-0711-cicerone-20100711,0,7352555.story?page=2
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By: Scott-TheBrewClub

Scott-TheBrewClub — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:53:40 +0000

@Norman, thanks for revisiting this post! I can’t believe I didn’t respond to any of the previous comments over the years. How rude of me!!!!

I really need to revisit what I wrote – while it works, what you say I have learned is correct and a beer rarely needs more than one pour, let alone 3. Others have mentioned that carbonation isn’t always a bad thing in beer, and the goal should not be a nice flat beer!

I do think that a good pour can be fun to look at, and it can certainly enhance the beer drinking experience. Have fun with it, and thanks for all the suggestions!
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By: NormanMcGee

NormanMcGee — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:37:14 +0000

I’m glad someone did a write-up on this, as this is one of the “industry secrets” that has yet to catch on with the general public. However, if you’re pouring correctly there are very few beers which should require 2 or 3 pours due to a massive head.

You do want to pour down the middle, but you should not allow the pour to “glug” out of the bottle or can – it should pour smooth as silk. That being said, you want to pour the beer as fast as you can (without the glug) and power through the end of the pour. It may look like the head is going to overflow but if you’ve done it correctly it will always stop right at the top of the glass. Of course, each style of beer will have its own size head. The pour itself is beautiful, and moments after the beer will look picture-perfect in the glass. Impresses at parties.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:05:17 +0000

There are plenty of objectively wrong ways to drink a beer (eg, drinking a bottle conditioned ale straight from the bottle), but I do not agree that there is anything wrong with the pour at an angle method (and then straighten out at the end to achieve proper head for the style).
Your main reasoning seems to be for CO2 release, but that’s kind of silly because the carbonation of the beer is an important part of the mouthfeel and style of the beer. Some beers, particularly low quality beers like BMC (bud/miller/coors), are over-carbonated and so that may be where you got the idea of a carbonation “sting” from. Everyone has different preferences about carbonation so if you prefer lower carb you should just buy beer styles that have lower carbonation.

Regarding carbonation producing belchs / gas, I’m pretty sure it can only produce burping. Gas is produced by the indigestable fibers and grains in beer.

You’re right that drinking beer at very cold temps is a big mistake if you want to pick up the subtle flavors in the brew. Unless of course it’s BMC, which doesn’t have subtle flavors.

By: eli

eli — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:29:15 +0000

I would have to agree, drinking straight from a bottle really is frustrating, I have never been able to belch the extra carbonation you induce when consuming beer. With every beer, the carbonation builds up with every beer and this is quite uncomfortable for someone who can’t belch. I always ask for a mug, and pour the beer myself, letting the beer fizzle out a bit, then pour the rest. This not only lets me taste the beer, but also prevents the carbonation pressure from building up in my stomach and ruining my night, also preventing me from getting drunk…any helpful hints.

By: Muser

Muser — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 02:40:12 +0000

Thanks for the instruction.
“… and then, using the proper pouring techniques, you should have a much richer beer-tasting experience!” indicates that the beer is kept in the bottle for the ten minute warming period.
You need to mention though, whether or not the beer bottle is opened and allowed to breathe for the ten minutes like a bottle of wine.

Or is it kept closed and opened at the end of the ten minute warming period?

Thanks again.

By: BeerNoob

BeerNoob — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:25:12 +0000

Thank you for this interesting article – I have recently gotten into beer, and before I stumbled upon this article I was just drinking straight from the bottle. Now I’ve invested in a couple of pint glasses and this is how I pour my beer. My brother-in-law and certain other beer snobs I know insist that I’m wrong to do it this way (and the whole angle-thing is how I learned to pull a beer on tap in bartending school) but it definitely works for me. Thanks!

By: DANNY FLORES

DANNY FLORES — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 05:51:34 +0000

i have been pouring beer down my belly for years… i’ve just started this newly found procedure,, & i find it a good way to slowly enjoy a good beer. i have found that sam adams is a very good beer for this procedure. but for the majority of enjoying the way i have been consuming is old school. chug is my style, cause its fun for me! it helps me stay young in the mind. coors light is my usual beer, sam adams is my slow drinking beer, pacifico is my party beer, trout slayer is my microbrew beer, spatten brau is my european beer.

By: Coops

Coops — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:01:42 +0000

Jeez, I’ve been doing it wrong too then. The top’s barely off the bottle and it’s in my mouth.

I like sparkling beer and knocking out the Co2 seems wrong (to me). Being Australian it’s seen as good manners to burp and fart so the people around you know what a good time you’re having.

We drink our beer straight from the freezer. O.1 degrees C is considered optimal.

10 minutes! Three blokes would down a sixpack in that time. If you’re still standing there looking at your beer you’ll miss all the fun of getting pissed and offend the host.

Thanks for the lesson anyway. Its always good to know how differently we do things over here.

By: A.P.

A.P. — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:32:39 +0000

If I am going to enjoy one reaally good beer, and I have time, I’d definitely wait and do 2-3 pours, but most of the time, I’m with Hypocritical, I’m trying to down a few.