Pouring a perfect pint isn’t complicated, but it does make a huge impact to the overall enjoyment of a beer.
Whether you’re pouring from a tap or from a can or bottle, the key here is to release a good amount of carbonation so that you get a nice foamy head in the glass. Now this may seem counterintuitive to what you’ve been taught, and that’s ok, even bartenders get it wrong.
Most people will look at a pint glass and tilt the beer at an angle so that when they pour, they get as little head as possible, because there is a belief that you lose beer when it becomes head, and you want to get as much liquid as possible. This simply isn’t the case, and you’re not only ruining your beer drinking experience but also hurting yourself, literally.
I’m sure you’ve experienced, or at least heard someone say, they don’t feel like a beer because it makes them “bloated”. That is a legitimate concern, as the CO2 in beer will generally cause a feeling of bloated stomach, but here’s the deal: bloated beer belly is completely avoidable and it all has to do with your pour. You see when you pour a beer in a fashion that reduced head, you’re trapping all that CO2 in your stomach rather than in the glass itself. By ensuring you pour a beer properly, you also make sure you feel better at the end of the night.
So what does a perfect pour look like? This short video from Business Insider helps explain:
If you’re too lazy to watch a two minute video, let’s sum up. You want to pour the beer at an angle, but at a fast pace so as to agitate the beer as it is being poured. Allow yourself some room near the top of the glass for the head to rest, which ultimately ends up as beer anyways. Not only does this protect your stomach but it also helps open up the aroma of the beer and the head acts as an insulator for the beer underneath.
Next time you think about drinking a beer straight out of a bottle or can, think twice, your stomach will thank you.
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