Don’t fear the foam

This article was first published in Ferment Issue 115.

The stage was set. Two pristine bars, empty except for a single gleaming tap stood proudly at the centre. Each braced to deliver the perfect beer. Everything cast in a vibrant green hue, the brand colour of Heineken who were hosting their Global Draught Championship in Amsterdam. Behind a curtain, bartenders from around the world gathered nervously, waiting to showcase their skills.

Heineken invited me to observe the competition. It got me thinking about what makes a perfect pour. Does the way a beer is served really make a difference to how enjoyable it is to drink? Many factors impact on service; conditioning, temperature, glassware, angle of pour (a universal 45°, so you know.) But time and again my research brought me back to the importance of beer’s foam.

The Global Draught Championship, which has run since 2013, is a huge investment that Heineken makes in protecting their brand. It showcases the effectiveness of their “Star Quality” program which trains bartenders in the art of perfect service. At the heart of that process is a healthy head on the finished beer.

Early that day at the ‘Heineken Experience’, a visitor centre created in the original brewery building, my tour group and I had been taught the art of dishing up the perfect glass of Heineken. This involved a two minute training session. Most people got it spot on straight away, with their head of foam resting comfortably on the shoulders of the iconic red star printed on the glass. Admittedly I needed two attempts to get it right, but that was enough.

This made the competition feel a little pointless, as we watched participants from all over the world showboating to the crowd before repeating the self same actions that we were taught not two hours earlier. But actually it makes sense. If your lager tastes best skimmed once before settling and it is served in over 190 countries, you’d better make sure that pretty much anyone can master the technique immediately.

What is the science behind this simple serve? I asked Master Brewer Willem van Waesberghe to explain.

“If you look at the perfect pour, we want to create a foam which is consistent and stays for a long time. The thing which kills foam the most is fat, so we rinse the glass with water and that also cools the glass down.

“But within the foam, big bubbles are the ones which destroy other bubbles – the small bubbles release their carbon dioxide into the big ones. They grow and they explode. The reason we skim in the Netherlands is to remove the big bubbles so they don’t kill the rest.”

When those small bubbles release their carbon dioxide in the mouth, the drinker enjoys a touch of additional acidity and bitterness. It makes the beer more refreshing. And Heineken isn’t the only brewer to emphasise the fundamental importance of a decent head in seeking beer drinking perfection.

Radim Zvánovec is the Global Brand Ambassador for the Czech state-owned Budweiser Budvar brewery. He has been spreading the good word of the perfect Budvar pour for five years. He wouldn’t dream of using a bar blade to skim the glass.

“To avoid oxidation, it starts with pouring the foam first,” Radim tells me. “For Czechs, it’s very typical to put the spout into the foam and draw the beer underneath it. You get three fingers of foam on the top so the beer stays fresh; retains all the aromatics. That wet foam contributes to the mouthfeel and a more velvety drinking experience. Don’t fear the foam.”

The action of pouring a beer, which creates the head, lowers the level of carbonation in the liquid. This reduces the perceived bitterness and makes the beer more drinkable. Bartenders in the Czech Republic deem this to be so critical to the beer drinking experience that they have created a variety of pouring techniques. The standard pour described by Radim is the Hladinka, but there is also the Šnyt pour (pronounced “schnit”) which gives a more dense, proportionately larger foam. Since this retains the carbonation for longer, it’s great for when you are eating – and drinking more slowly.

For the connoisseur, the Mlíko, or milk, pour is also available. Here the tap is only slightly pulled down to fill the glass simply with foam. This has the least amount of residual carbonation, making for a creamy drinking experience where the hop aromas and malty sweetness can shine through.

Getting the right amount of head is also considered vital for the full enjoyment of Belgian beers. Duvel cared about it so much that in the 1960s, the third generation brewers developed a new glass that would allow the contents of a full 33cl bottle to be poured in and accommodate an enormous head. The tulip-shaped glass narrows towards the top to help retain the carbonation created by bottle fermentation, preserving the head as you drink.

Ruth Tomlinson from Duvel Moortgat UK explained to me that the perfect 45 degree pour releases some of the carbonation to generate the foam.

“A gentler pour will leave Duvel fully carbonated,” she warned, “and may cause bloating to the drinker.”

Here in the UK, the issue of foam can be seriously divisive. Regional variation has led to regional variation in preferences for sparklers to be used when serving cask ale. This little plastic attachment fits on the swan neck. Using it forces the beer through small holes when it is served, creating a creamy head.

Beer Sommelier Annabel Smith has written convincingly on the history of sparkler use, putting the North-South divide down to the ready availability of hops for brewers in the South and the relative expense of hops for more Northerly brewers. The sparkler helps to squeeze the hop oils into the head, so that Northern drinkers could smell the reduced volume of hops straight away and still get the appropriate bitterness in their first sip, thereby compensating for the relative paucity of hops in the beer overall.

While the disparity in hopping no longer exists, the divide over sparklers certainly does – though the debate is generally good humoured. It is a question of preference, but notable that the Southern pint of cask ale, often with little or no head (but still perfectly conditioned) is one of the few examples globally of a beer that is served without foam.

Yorkshire brewers Timothy Taylors are clear that they would prefer their classic beer, Landlord, to be served through a sparkler to create a thick, creamy froth. In fact, Landlord’s lively yeast means it takes longer to condition than other ales so they deliver a 32 page quality brochure to guide publicans through all aspects of conditioning and service, facilitating a perfect pint in every pub where their beer is served.

Like Budvar, Timothy Taylors recommend their beer be pulled with the spout in the glass. “The first pull is the most important,” a training video explains. “It needs to be the firmest and most consistent, as this creates the perfect head.” Publicans are invited to fill the glass about three quarters up, then leaving the pint to settle before topping it up to achieve the desired head and to prevent overspill.

This two stage process brings an element of theatre to service, watching the cascade of bubbles and the swirling, almost milky-looking beer settle out into that characteristic clear amber pint with a perfect foam top.

Of course, Landlord is not the only beer where a two-step pour is recommended. A delve into the archives tells us that Guinness has been recommending this method practically since their nitrogenated Draught Guinness was first launched. It was brought out in Ireland in 1964, five years after the English. In 1965, a black and white commercial known as “Young Man Dublin” featured the ‘surge and settle’ two-stage process in full.

Michael Ash, a mathematician, was tasked to replace the old system of pouring Guinness from two casks in the 1950s. Then, each pint was composed of three quarters drawn from a mature but lightly carbonated ‘low cask’ and topped off from a highly conditioned ‘high’ cask. This took a long time, no small amount of skill and, of course, required two casks to be available in the correct condition at any given time.

Ash’s nitrogenated keg Guinness didn’t save any time at all, since the brewery promotes an optimum 119.53 seconds settling time. But it did significantly reduce the skill level required to serve up the perfect pint. After all, nitro Guinness requires no conditioning or blending to create an exemplary finish.

For the biggest brands, like Heineken and Guinness, an idiot-proof system of service is non-negotiable, but they still have to invest just as much into training bar staff as Timothy Taylor to ensure consistency. 

And does the two-part pour actually benefit consumers? Guinness say it guarantees “consistency of head height and creaminess as well as ensuring you get that iconic dome over the rim of the glass.” Once again, foam is the key factor at the heart (and the head) of the perfect beer.