A nice head on a beer

I think the only way around this is to go to a bar that knows how to serve beer. Your average bartender has no idea.

I remember a friend ordering Sam Adams winter lager at a restaurant once. The server said “we’re out but we have Sierra Nevada celebration, it’s basically the same thing.” My head exploded but I didn’t say a word. Point, most places have no idea.

 

Aroma is just as important as taste.
The head captures those aromas and releases them almost directly into your your nose. I've had many beers where the flavor changed after the head died.

 

OR, they are tired of other customers (including many supposedly "educated" craft geeks, see: "Pour, Boss") complaining about being ripped off because of too much collar...

• Water
• Malted Barley
• Hops
• Yeast
• Spices

Well, 4 out of 5 of the same ingredients, so "basically" the same...compared to soda pop, wine or the bar peanuts, I guess.

 

Welcome to the BA site, Condorito. You've found a great place to talk about everything beer (and a few other things). Explore the site as much as you can.

I don't know why the bar wouldn't honor your request for a beer with a head on it. Certainly they know what that means even if the staff is a bit dippy. But I think many bartenders think they're giving you your money's worth by filling to the rim, thus avoiding what @jesskidden said about avoiding complaints. (And hoping for a better tip.)

If a beer is set in front of you and it's short because the foam has already disappeared, do you complain? Too often a beer won't support a lingering head, so that's the other thing you have to consider. You can ask for a fork and moderately stir the upper half of the beer and get some foam to return, but you'd have to drink it quickly to get the enjoyment you want.

 

As was already stated, I think going to the right bar is the only way to make this happen. Way back in the day when I was allowed out, I went to the same place 2-3 times per week at the same time. That bartender gave me a perfect 1.5" head every time,just as I like. But he knows me. He knows what I like. And most important of all, he knows what he is doing. And Condorito is an amazing name, btw. Assuming you pulled it from the Chilean comic.

 

You don’t like Stouts?

 

My girlfriend is French and lived in the Czech Republic for ten years. The first time I poured her a beer, she told me to make sure that there was head on it. That’s when I fell in love.

 

Welcome to BA, OP!

A nice head shows the beer was poured in a way that the aroma is released. Having that aroma come into your nose as the flavors come onto your palate in your mouth is how the experience is enjoyed best IMO

 

I find this to be the exception and not the rule. Very few stouts are packaged still.

 

When I judge Appearance on a beer the head is very important.
All too often beer doesn't seem to be carbonated enough to hold a steady head.
Occasionally, very occasionally a beer will hold it's head the whole way through. What a beautiful thing that is!
Let's see if I remember the quote correctly, "The head is the brewers gift." Bamburg? I think?
Cheers!

 

It seems like usually “ the customer is always right” should be the rule, but you never know. There is a variation among beers too. 99% of the beer I drink is at home out of cans/bottles and there’s a wide variety of head regardless of how I pour it.
.....But more about Raul’s girlfriend

 

No head doesn't exactly mean that the beer is flat.

I lived in Australia for a few years and the bartenders that I dealt with poured beers to minimize the head which resulted in getting the most for my money and none of them were flat.

 

The foam on the beer is not really related to the carbonation level. Completely flat beer will not pour with any head, but if the beer has any CO2 at all a decent collar can be achieved.

Foam is mostly related to temperature and velocity.
Warm beer foams more than cold beer. And if the beer is really cold, less than around 34, it is very difficult to get a good foam collar.

The velocity of the pour, that is how vigorous the beer hits the glass, causes the beer to foam.

A dirty glass inhibits head formation. Oil and grease kill foam. Quickly.

Poorly made beer wont have very good foam retention. Protein holds hold. So a go0d hefe foams like crazy, but poorly crafted adjunct heavy beers do not.

Cheers.

 

When I want a beer with a thick, long lasting head, I brew my own!

 

It would be easier if everyone adopted the German method of marking the volume on beer glasses. That way you're assured of getting the amount of beer you're paying for with room left over for a nice head.

 

A poured beer should have a head so sayeth the Pope of Foam:

 

Stouts. Little to no head, certainly not flat beers.

 

A co-worker/fellow beer geek was transferred to the UK for about 18 months. He told me the pub staff told him that a properly poured Murphy's stout has a head creamy enough to allow the drinker to use his finger to write their initial in the head and it will still be readable when the glass is drained. mmmmmm....creamy head

 

Aroma and taste are integrally related. Vision added to the mix makes beer and wine appreciation really fun. It's very complicated but easy to do. It's just a blessing in a myriad number of ways.