At Firestone, have been known to enjoy a beer or two. You’ll find most of us drinking our beer out of a glass, rather than straight out of a bottle or can. This is primarily for a few reasons. Read on to learn more…
Pouring into a glass releases the aromas of the beer, which is a crucial part of enjoying its flavor. It helps raise the temperature above fridge or cooler temperatures, at which taste is super limited. Flavor, aroma, carbonation, and even mouthfeel change with temperature.
Lastly – we drink with our eyes too.
To gaze upon a freshly poured pint and watch it slowly leave rings of foam, or lacing, in our glass is a magical site.
A quick checklist for you to fully enjoy a properly poured beer at home:
Enjoy your beer at the right temperature. Most beers are served below 40 degrees from the fridge, cooler, or draft system. Most beers taste their best between 50-55 degrees. Use a room temp glass (frozen glasses are too cold, often dirty, and destroy beer carbonation), and let the beer warm in your hand while drinking.
Ensure you have the proper glass for the beer style and occasion. Proper glassware enhances the flavor and experience of your beer. See our blog post on style-specific beer glassware.
Use a squeaky-clean, well-rinsed glass. If you’ve ever noticed beers poured at home don’t look exactly as beautiful as at a bar, that’s because clean isn’t good enough – the glass needs to be “beer clean.” This means clean enough to not have carbonation stick to the side of your glass and to keep the foam on the beer from disappearing.
Many dishwashing soaps leave an invisible residue on your glass that kills the foam on beer. Bars have a special cleaning process that leaves no residue on your glass. At home, the best solution is to take a clean glass, give a light scrub (sans soap) and a cold water rinse right before use.
Give a proper pour, with a tight long-lasting head. The foam on top of your beer, or head, invites you in with bold aromas and flavors of the beer. As much as 75% of what we taste is actually from aroma. The proper pour guarantees a better flavor experience. Hold your glass at 45 degrees in your hand and pour the beer at the mid-point of the glass. Tilt your glass upright as the beer is half-poured. Finish pouring beer into upright glass so there’s ½-1 ½ inches of foam.
Dive in! Our favorite part. Take a moment to enjoy a perfectly poured pint.
So there you have it, a quick guide on how to pour the perfect beer. Tag us on Instagram to show us your perfectly poured beer – cheers!