How to Pour a Beer

Posted on August 31st, 2009 by Carmelia

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Pouring beer may seem like the easiest thing in the world. However, it can be surprisingly tricky to do, especially in a crowded beerhouse where there’s a lot of people milling around. Here’s how to pour a beer perfectly.

Basic Guidelines

The most picturesque beer steins full of beer is that foaming top called the head. The head is important not just for aesthetic reasons but for flavor-related reasons as well. The head introduces you to the aroma and flavor of the beer before you even drink it.

Tip the beer stein (or the beer mug) at a 45-degree angle.
Gently pour the beer down the side of the beer stain. Keep pouring until it is a little less than half-full.
When it reaches half-full, set the beer stein upward and keep on pouring until you top it up with a head size (the foam top) of around 1.5 inches.

Pouring beer down gently into the beer stein is important to make sure that any sediment that comes with the beer won’t be disturbed to settle peacefully at the bottom. You’ll have a “cleaner” looking beer that will look more presentable.

Ensuring that your beer stein has been washed and dried carefully also makes a world’s difference in the flavor of the beer you serve.

This may take a while to perfect, but keep doing it often enough and you’ll be sure to do it without spilling a drop.

Pouring Different Kinds of Beer

Different kinds of beers may also require slightly different methods of pouring. Here are some.

Ales. Ales pretty much follow the standard way of pouring beer, with the exception of pouring the beer a little more slowly than average. Leaving the proper finger’s width of head is also important to retain ale’s hoppy flavor. (Want to make an ale made from ginger, read how to make ginger ale)
Stouts. Fill the beer stein upright, and pause when you’ve reached half. Let the sediments settle at the bottom of the glass for a few minutes and continue until you’ve filled the beer stein.
Pilsners. Pilsners are simple to pour. Simple pour it down an upright beer stein, and you’re done. The head should just be short to overflowing.
Hefweizen. Keep the beer stein tilted until just before the beer overflows. You can set it upright just before you fill up the beer stein. Including the yeasty sediment at the bottom of the beer stein is very much acceptable.

If you enjoy reading this article, you’ll surely be interested in reading the 10 cool alternate uses for beer.