Is this an acceptable restaurant pour?

You are correct. But I'm still going to look around for a small scale and oz. meter tomorrow.

 

Average wine glass pour is 5oz

 

not acceptable, but then again wasn't me who ordered a delirium

 

It's true that here in Belgium people tend to get very anal about getting enough head (as wrong as that all sounds together), but I tend to lean towards the British and American perception of things. I only pour big heads on hoppy beers that I can just drink without scrupules, like a basic Duvel or Karmeliet. I'm not as hard line anti-head as some people here apparently are, but I generally don't see the use of it except for looking vaguely pretty.

 

Except that's completely irrelevant as this is clearly not an undersized glass used to make an undersized pour look bigger. This is either an appropriately sized pour in an oversized glass (as Belgian beers are often served to accommodate for a voluminous head), or an undersized pour in a "normal" sized glass, and without knowing the size of the glass it's impossible to know which it is.

 

assuming that is a standard 6x6 cocktail napkin below it, that glass is probably around 16oz.

it looks a lot like the st. bernardus goblets, which are designed to be filled about halfway:
http://thejosephturner.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Prior8.jpg

 

The type of conversation going on in this thread actually affects me greatly, as I run a Belgian style beer bar, and get this type of question/complaint on occasion (recently just got a one-star yelp review for this very issue actually).

The issue is really one of perception. In America we are, at least in recent decades, influenced by the British style of beer service, in which most beers are served in pint glasses, and nearly to the top, with a specified, though not large, room for head (we in the US generally do not use glasses with a pint marking, instead using glasses which fit 16oz to the brim, but that is another discussion). In Belgium, however, beers are served in a much different fashion, as has been noted by a few people in this thread. The beers are served at a much higher pressure than in, for instance, England (traditionally at least), and are thus meant to be served with a larger percentage of head. To accommodate this most Belgian glasses are marked approximately 1/2 to 2/3 up the glass with a pour line, indicating to where they should be filled, with the rest left as head space.

Because we are used to getting pint glasses filled to the top, in the British style, we expect our glasses to be filled, and think we are getting cheated if they are not. In Belgium, however, it is not about the size of the glass, but about the amount of beer put into a glass. Many American bars are now serving more Belgian, and Belgian-style beers, but obviously do not have glasses that are marked to show the proper pour amount, and that is where situations like this one come about.

 

Doesn't the Tremens glass have a fill line? ('Can't remember.) I thought some of the European glassware had this which also allows for a foamy head.

***Note, I should have ready further through the thread as this is the case.*** My apology.

 

Bad pour, I probably did it myself when I was 18 and bartending but I admitted mistakes. She should've fixed it instead of giving you some bs answer.

 

what is bad about it? what was the mistake? how should she have fixed it? Just curious.

 

First, this certainly is good to know. But also I feel like we should consider that just because a beer is served a certain way in its native homeland doesn't mean that it's the only way it should be served, or that it's the way the brewer would prefer it be served.

I've had so many crappily served SN Pales here in the states and I would hope that a Belgian tourist wouldn't assume that the proper pouring procedure for that beer is demonstrated from coast to coast.

I'm definitely not saying that's the case in this instance... just something to consider... you know, like... in general.

Enough of that. As you were.

 

It's bad because the glass is half head/half beer. Would you like it if someone poured you that in a restaurant? If I were here I would've taken it back and poured a new one, or at least topped it off. There are ways to pour from a tap correctly to decrease the amount of foam and this person obviously didn't know/didn't care. At a restaurant or bar where the price of a beer is much higher than you'd pay in a store, they better get it right.

 

There's a difference between getting served a shitty pour in some random restaurant/bar and consistently getting it literally everywhere you go, including some of the most well regarded bars in Belgium (hell, De Heeren is ranked in the top few bars in the world, and they'd still pour with a ton of head). Some Belgian styles are supposed to have a large amount of head.

 

There are differences in beer culture between here and Belgium. I've been to Belgium and never received a less than excellent pour anywhere. On the other hand, if a foreign tourist visiting the USA were to assume that crappy underpours in dirty glassware with too much head was the cultural norm in this country, you know what, they might actually be right!

 

You hit the answer in your last sentence.

With graduated glassware, this problem goes away. Fill the beer to the line, with as much or little head above as is appropriate for the style.

If someone questions/complains, point to the line.

 

go to yahoo and type in delerium tremens glass and check out the images. for a belgian style, half a cup of head is totally normal. within the constraints of value and worth, maybe not, but thats how they are to be poured. many belgian tulips will actually have a pour line on them which is slightly higher than half and is expected to be filled with head the rest of the way.

Anyhow, look at any image of delerium tremens and you will notice that it is just slightly higher than half filled

 

If the top of the beer is at the pour line, I wouldnt have a problem with it at all.

 

I dunno...today, in American society and in the current state of the economy...especially for any beer being poured at $9 I believe this is a very unacceptable pour.

 

Well that's the beautiful part about this forum is that you and I have opinions, in this case they happen to differ. If I pay more for a beer at a restaurant I want to drink a beer, not foam.

 

Not to be a dick but this statement is completely naive. You obviously have 0 understanding about "proper" pour sizes, and presentation with different styles of beer, specifically Belgian.

Why is it bad that you receive 8-10oz of beer with a 3inch head in a 16-20oz glass (regardless of price)? please explain your logic.

Have you ever poured multiple beer styles from tap? because i would love to see you pour Delirium, or any other Belgian beer which is intended to have a 2-5 finger head with less head without spillage. Its pretty much impossible. Why? Because that's how the beer is supposed to be served and presented.

From someone who works at a beer focused restaurant, this pour looks completely fine. Its an over sized snifter that can accommodate a lot of different styles including Belgians, stouts, sours etc. There's def 8-10oz of beer in that glass and after the head settles will be another .5-1.5oz. of liquid.

proof is in the pudding.




Nut brown with 3 finger head? zomg!?! send it back!