Lines on Ale

Fill with mingled cream and amber,

I will drain that glass again. Such hilarious visions clamber Through the chamber of my brain Quaintest thoughts queerest fancies Come to life and fade away; What care I how time advances? I am drinking ale today. - Edgar Allen Poe

Step 1 - A Beer Clean Glass

When attempting to pour the perfect beer, there are many things to consider. Although it may sound like the obvious, it is extremely important to start with a clean glass. A Beer Clean Glass is a glass that is free of any soaps or oils. When soaps are present on a glass, the head and flavor of the beer may be ruined. There are 3 simple and easy ways to test the cleanliness of your glass.

Testing for Beer-Clean Glass

1. Sheeting Test: Dip the glass in water. If the glass is clean, water evenly coats the glass when lifted out of the water. If the glass still has an invisible film, water will break up into droplets on the inside surface. 2. Salt Test: Salt sprinkled on the interior of a wet glass will adhere evenly to the clean surface, but will not adhere to the parts that still contain a greasy film. Poorly cleaned glasses show an uneven distribution of salt. 3. Lacing Test: Fill the glass with beer. If the glass is clean, foam will adhere to the inside of the glass in parallel rings after each sip, forming a lacing pattern. If not properly cleaned foam will adhere in a random pattern, or may not adhere at all (Rabin, 2010).
Sheeting Salt Lacing

CO2 gas inside beer will leave the beer and attach to any film residue left from a detergent, lint, or other foreign objects left on the glass surface. So again, the importance of a properly cleaned glass is the first step in pouring the perfect glass of beer.

Step 2 - The Pour

There are a lot of different suggestions for properly pouring a beer. When pouring, either from the tap, bottle or can, the consensus is to hold the glass at approximately a 45 degree angle. The beer should hit the middle of the glass, allowing the beer to slide down to the bottom. This is just a generalized description as there are different pours required for the different styles of beers (Carleton, 2009). If you are pouring from a bottle specifically, place the glass at the pre-mentioned angle, just below the opening of the bottle, approximately 1 inch away. If pouring a draft from a tap, do not let the faucet make contact with the glassware! Open the faucet all the way in one quick motion to allow the beer to flow freely.

When pouring from a tap, place a hand low on the tap, near the faucet and quickly snap the handle towards you with one motion, until it stops and the faucet is open and pouring beer. As the glass fills, straighten the glass to an upright position and then quickly close faucet. Positioning your hand low on the tab knob just above the faucet is a technique that minimizes the distance your hand must travel to open and close the faucet. This allows for a faster open and close, and therefore a more improved quality pour. Keep in mind that there are various pours suggested for everything from bottled conditioned beers to Hefeweizen beers. Dont be scared to pour your last quarter of the beer with some height as some beers are harder to create a head than others. When the head of the beer is created, the aromatics of the beer are released. With some beers, the yeast will settle to the bottom of the bottle and may come out when you pour your beer; this practice is customary with wheat beers.

Step 3 - Finish & Enjoy

Head on a beer brings out the flavor and aroma of the beer, thus making this last step as important as the first two. Many suggest that a well poured beer should have between - inch of foam on the top of the beer. Another way to help head retention is by adding distance between the tap and the glass; you can help to create more of a foamy head.

Upon a closer look, the foam should consist of tiny bubbles of the same size that are holding on to each other. (If the beer foam contains large bubbles or dissipates quickly this can be a sign that the glass is not clean). As the beer is being consumed, remnants, known as lace, should have collected on the sides of the glass. This is a sign of a good beer, a clean glass and is said to be a sign of good luck! What is beer head exactly? Well thats a great question. Beer head, the white-ish foam on top of the beer that so many people think is a waste, is produced by the bubbles of carbon dioxide (CO2) rising to the surface of the beer. The density and longevity of the beer head is determined by the type of malt and grains used in the brewing process. This is why not all beer produces the same type of beer head retention. For example, higher alcoholic concentrations actually kill the amount of foam that appears in high ABV beers, such as the rare and exotic Sam Adams Utopias (Cohen, 2010).

References
Adams, S. (Producer/Company) (2011). Sam adams utopias [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.samueladams.com/utopias/ Carleton. (2009, June 08). Properly pouring beer. Retrieved from http://blog.beeriety.com/2009/07/08/the-proper-beer-pours/ Cohen, J. (2010, May 14). Beer universe. Retrieved from http://www.beer-universe.com/beereducation-article/2010-05-14/What-s-the-Deal-with-Beer-Head-/ Rabin, D. (2010). Testing for beer-clean glass. Retrieved from http://www.draughtquality.org/w/page/18182231/Testing for Beer-Clean Glass