Extra, Extra
Extra, Extra
Extra, Extra
Extra, Extra
Early Addition
Some people go to great lengths to avoid it. They’ll tilt to the side, go in at it slowly - taking perfect measure to avoid a big, frothy head on top of their beer. Perhaps it’s just residual habit from those college keg days, but there is good reason to stop the temptation and just say yes to head. Now don’t get us wrong, we’re not suggesting getting head with just any beer. But with yeasty German wheat beer the head not only acts as protective barrier but also adds a great texture to the drink.
We learned all of this when we were schooled in how to achieve the perfect beer pour from a bottle. Beers like hefe-weizens lend themselves perfectly to this technique so we choose one of our favorites, a Paulaner Hefe-weizen. The key is to start with a clean, pilsner glass. Any pint glass will do as well, but we were with a beer professional (read: “functioning alcoholic”) who took his stemware very seriously. Here’s what we learned:
1. Start, by taking the clean glass and rinse it with cold water, making sure there is no soap residue left in it. To ensure it is clean hold the glass upside to see if the of water evaporates up the glass. If it does without stopping then you've got yourself a clean one.
2. Hold the glass at a 45-degree angle and stick the neck of the bottle far inside the glass. Pour the beer slowly into the side of the glass pulling the bottle out slightly as you go. When you have about a “finger’s worth” left of beer in the bottle (about 1/2 inch) stop pouring.
3. Take the bottle and swirl the remaining beer around fairly vigorously. Don’t be bashful here as we are attempting to reactivate the yeast that has settled at the bottom of the bottle.
4. After about 5- 8 good swirls, pour the rest of the beer into the center of the glass, forming a perfect head that is about an inch to an inch and a half deep.
The reason why the head is good is twofold. First, the thick froth serves as a protective barrier to oxygen, which breaks down the beer, placing it on a downward spiral towards its death. Secondly the rich, creamy texture serves as a great contrast to the spicy, zingy flavors in the beer. We never realized form and function came together so perfectly on top of our golden, glass of frosty beer.
Now that we have the moves down we will take that little extra time and effort to pour our wheat beers properly. There is no reason to fear or avoid head. It takes a little getting used to, but most things worth it usually do.
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I'm sorry, but step 3 is flat out wrong; bottle conditioned beers should always poured gingerly at the end to AVOID pouring the sediment into the glass.
they teach you a similar technique at the budwiser brewery in st. louis, minus step 3.
regardless of whether you like the beer or not, another reason they said for the head is to release some of the CO2 from the beer, making it less filling (and leaving more room to drink).
I agree with Greg. You do not want to pur the yeast into your glass. It will make you poo.
Ummm.... According to germanbeerguide they actually say "Hefeweizen should be poured smoothly into a tilted, rinsed glass. Pause when there's about a quarter of the bottle left, swirl the bottle to lift the sediment, then pour the rest into the glass to give a big, fragrant head and release the yeast into the beer to give it its cloudy appearance."
That is what I have always done...
So I will have to agree with Gothamist on this one.
ugh, beer nerds.
I prefer beer snob. And step three is correct depending upon the beer. Hefeweizen beers and most Belgium trappist ales should be stirred.
Besides adding depth and flavor, beer lees are actually good for you - they're full of vitamins and other nutritious things. Good for the metabolism, the heart, all sorts of things.
We're very strongly conditioned to prefer light, clear beer, so if you think it's weird to drink beer with sediment, then by all means skip the bottom of the bottle.
Also depends on the glass you're using..
I prefer Belgian Ale, so I use a red wine glass for La Chouffe Ale to guaranty thick, foamy head
But a Duval needs an pear shaped glass to get the best head, and taste
A pilsner needs a tall glass, etc, etc
The yeast makes you poo? Anyone can confirm this? I find that Asahi makes me poo the next morning everytime I have lots of it the night before.
I'll have to remember the swirling though, the next time I have belgium beer our of the bottle.
Well we're all correct, at least according to the expert:
beerhunter.com/askmichael.html
German and Belgian wheat styles should be cloudy, other bottle conditioned beers, no.
Gothamist's instructions are also exactly the same ones as on the Circus Boy Hefeweizen from Magic Hat. Works for me.
High five, hops. I also enjoy La Chouffe in a red wine glass. My favorite beer.
Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
Benjamin Franklin