The Perfect Way To Pour A Beer

The perfect person knows how to pour the perfect beer. The looks, sounds, and tastes of a good pour can elevate even the cheapest brew to a thing of beauty. Let's look at the perfect pour. All beers have bubbles, but the trick of the perfect pour is in controlling the rate of bubble formation, also known as nucleation. So skip the frosty mug and start with a freshly rinsed glass and an ice cold beer. Why? Dust scratches and ice increase nucleation. A freshly rinsed glass is your best bet. At the start of the pour, you want to create as few bubbles as possible. So do not pour the beer straight down. This creates a vacuum inside the bottle, accelerates nucleation in the glass, and makes you look like an amateur. Instead, tilt the glass 45 degrees and pour slowly. This allows the beer to gently hit the glass and keeps extra bubbles at bay. As the beer rises to the top, you want to accelerate nucleation. Straighten out the glass and pour in the center. This pulls more oxygen into the beer, creating bubbles. As the bubbles rise, they bring with them stabilizing molecules that create the head on top. An ideal head should be about an inch to an inch and a half. Think Will Smith, not Kid and Play. Now take a moment to view your work. A well-poured beer is not something to chug. It's something to be appreciated, because the perfect pour is another important skill of the perfect person.