There are many misconceptions about how to store, pour, and enjoy beer. We'll start by choosing the right beer, the right glass, and the right mix of foods. Then, we'll talk about pouring, storing, and enjoying beer. The complete guide to drinking beer? Ready.
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Part 1 of 3: Getting the Best Taste
Step 1. Choose the right beer
The days when you thought beer was just a drink poured from a big barrel into a red plastic cup are gone. There are an unlimited number of different types of beer today, and this means there is a type of beer to suit your ideal taste. Here's a short list that doesn't cover all the types at all (because a really exhaustive list would take too much of your time):
- ale. This type of beer ferments quickly and is usually slightly sweeter, heavier, and has a fruity taste. Indian Pale Ales (IPAs) beers are more foamy and generally bitter in taste. This type includes pale ale, wheat ale, bitter, porter, stout, barley wine, chocolate and triple ale ale. Be careful with triples, because these drinks are made by fermenting several times and can make you really drunk.
- Lager. Beers ferment slowly and tend to have a more "crispy" flavor than ale types, and are usually less foamy. Examples are Heineken, Bud Light, Natural Light, Harp, Corona, Miller Genuine Draft; and these are light lager types. Also included are pilsner, Vienna lager, bock and marzen beers.
- Stouts. This type actually includes " ale " as well, but has its own peculiarities. Stout beer is dark in color and often has a thick, creamy texture, with subtle chocolate and coffee flavours. There are also so-called oatmeal stout beers and oyster stout beers. Examples are Guinness, Beamish, and Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stouts.
- Bitters. This is an English ale beer, which has a dark copper-brown appearance and a fairly frothy (in other words, bitter) taste. In general, this breed has a depth of flavor that exceeds that of IPAs beers. The taste qualifications of this type of beer are difficult to define more than this explanation, because there are several categories in it: regular bitter (session), medium bitter (best), and very bitter (premium, which is also known as Extra Special Bitters/ESB beer).
- Wheat beer (Hefeweizen). This is a type of ale that has a light yet cloudy appearance. Often, this type of beer has a faint clove or banana flavor, or sometimes a spice or apple flavor as well. This type of beer is not bitter and is often served with a lemon wedge.
Step 2. Choose the right glass for each type of beer
Just as red wine and white wine (and liquor) need to be treated differently and placed in different glasses, so are different types of beer. Here are a few things to note:
- Large cup with handle: perfect for IPAs, red, black, brown and pale American Ale, Pilsner, English Stout, smoked beer, witbier, as well as American and English Porter.
- Large cup without handle: perfect for American Ale, IPAs, Pale Ale, English Bitter and light English Ale, cream ale, dark Lager and Stout.
- Stem cups: used for Belgian IPAs as well as strong, dark, quadruple and triple ales.
- Pilsner glasses: used for Vienna and Japanese lager, strong and dark Euro lager, American malt liquor, pale and red lager, and doppelbock.
- Weizen glasses: used for pale and dark wheat ale and all weizen beers.
Step 3. Choose the right type of beer to pair with your meal
The combination of food with beer will taste just as delicious, maybe even better, with the combination of food with wine. And in general, the principle is the same: light foods like salads or fish go well with light beers; while the heavier, meatier foods are better paired with stronger, darker beer types. You should also mix local beers with food from the same area. Apart from that, here are some things you need to keep in mind:
- Does your beer have caramel, chocolate or coffee flavours? If so, combine it with foods that contain smoked flavors, such as charcoal-grilled foods.
- Is your beer foamy? If so, it can give a touch of herbal flavor to fatty foods, such as salmon, pizza, and fried foods.
- Is your beer sweet and fruity? If so, your beer goes well with appetizers, such as grapes and cheese and bruschetta.
Part 2 of 3: Pouring Beer Right
Step 1. Choose a beer that has been stored in a cool, dark place
It is important that you store your beer in a cool place away from light, heat sources and a constant temperature. Ideally, most types of beer should be stored at 10-12 degrees Celsius. A higher temperature will shorten the life of your beer, while a lower temperature will make it cloudy.
- Want to know the technical guide? Strong beers (e.g. barley wine, triple beer, dark ale) are best enjoyed after being kept slightly below room temperature, which is around 12-15 degrees Celsius. Standard types of ale (eg bitter, IPAs, dobbelbock, lambic, stout, etc.) must be stored at a special storage room temperature of 10-12 degrees Celsius. Lighter types of beer (eg lager, pilsner, wheat beer, mild, etc.) should be stored at a refrigerator temperature, which is around 7-10 degrees Celsius.
- Imagine this basic principle: the higher the alcohol content, the higher the required temperature, and vice versa.
Step 2. Use a clean glass
Dirty glasses can contain a layer of grease or stains that can affect the original taste of your beer. After all, using a dirty glass is a dirty act. To ensure that your glasses are clean, rinse them under hot water, or use soap and water if necessary. Observe the glass under a beam of light to check for stains and grease on its surface.
Don't use your glass for multiple purposes at once. If this is a beer glass, use it for drinking beer only. To understand the importance of this, try to imagine if you drink beer from the glass you usually use to drink milk
Step 3. Pour the beer at a 45 degree angle
To do this perfectly, you'll need the "head" (the foamy part) 2.5–3 centimeters (1.0–1.2 in) high. You can get this portion of foam by pouring the beer into the right glass at a 45-degree angle. The beer should flow down after it hits the mid-height of the inside of the glass, creating air bubbles. This is what will produce the "head" part.
Getting a beer head is very important to produce the original taste of the beer. Without the head, you're missing out on the best part that brings out the great taste of the beer. The beer head also brings out a more powerful and luxurious aroma
Step 4. Raise the glass and start pouring the beer into it
When the glass is half full, lift the glass and pour the beer straight into the glass. This will minimize the portion of the head created, and produce the perfect portion of foam.
If the heads form too quickly (this happens with some beers), switch to the pouring direction straight to the center more quickly. If foam does not form, continue to use the pour direction at an angled angle
Step 5. You can also use the double pour method
Some people believe that double pouring will enhance the aroma and release the beer's taste. This is especially true of Guinness beers (this way of pouring is used in Dublin, so of course we better follow suit). Here's how:
- Pour the beer until the glass is half full, and the head is formed with a very large portion
- Let the foam on the head dissipate a little.
- Pour in the beer one more time, until the entire head portion reaches a height of 2.5-3.75 centimeters in the glass.
Part 3 of 3: Tasting Beer Right
Step 1. Observe your beer
You want to analyze your beer and find out which types you like, which you hate, and why? Start by observing your beer, especially its color and texture. Lift the beer up to your eyes, but avoid direct light (as this will make the beer appear paler than it actually is). What do you see?
- Observe the head. Is it foamy? Thick like cream? Quick disappear?
- Pay attention to the color. Is it golden, reddish, or brown?
- Look at the consistency of the texture. Like cream? Thick or runny? Is it cloudy and contains flakes of material or is it clear and clear?
Step 2. Rotate the glass until the beer swirls in it
Just as you twirl your glass of fine red wine, twirl your beer glass too. This will release the great aroma of your beer. This will also bring out his trademark and test the durability of his head.
How is this beer different from other beers you're familiar with, when the glass is spun around? How does the carbonation break down? What happens to the liquid beer, from the bottom to the top of the glass?
Step 3. Breathe in the aroma
After all, aroma is the biggest factor in taste. Breathe in the aroma for the first time with your nose. What scent do you catch? Fruit? Bread? Chocolate? Then, inhale the aroma with your mouth (yes, the mouth can indeed be used for this function). Have you noticed a change in scent?
If necessary, spin your beer glass again. Does this amplify the aroma?
Step 4. Taste it
Take the first sip. Don't swallow it right away. Let the beer stay in your mouth, moving along and touching each tip of the taste buds. How do you feel when the beer is in your mouth? Now, exhale (this can change the taste of the beer as some mucus is released). Recognize every taste that arises, even the subtle ones, such as salty or sweet. How do these flavors change when the beer starts to warm up in your mouth?
Next, swallow the beer. Then repeat again. Repeat, repeat, repeat, and repeat. How does it change with the next sips? Does the taste change when you drink the last bit at the bottom of the glass?
Step 5. Just spend it
Don't let the beer warm up and settle. If you drink beer straight from the bottle (but why would you do that anyway?) and then leave it to drink again later, the beer will taste bad again. So don't bother doing this. Beer is better enjoyed "now" until it runs out.
All right, you can just let it warm up a bit. Beer that is too cold will be masked by the low temperature. Allow the beer to warm up a bit and you might get a good change. However, don't let it sit until the beer temperature gets too high and it doesn't taste good anymore. If you let it sit too long, you'll find this exact timeout
Tips
- Carbonation will churning in your body after you have had a nice evening accompanied by beer (this is what is called gas in your stomach). By pouring the beer directly into the center of the glass, you release both the carbonation and the beer's aroma.
- You can see that your glass is clean after pouring the beer into it, by tilting it slightly. If the beer foam sticks to the inner surface of the glass, it means your glass is clean. A dirty glass will bring the surface of the beer back to level quickly, usually within a minute. If this happens, you have every right to ask for a replacement glass and a new beer.
