I sent a picture to a group of friends of a glass of Victory at Sea that I recently drank. I gave it a bit of an aggressive pour, as I like to do with porters and stouts, into a stem glass (Russian River) and had 3 to 4 fingers of head on it. One of my buddies comments "Embarrassing pour". I disagreed, but he is adamant that the pour is horrible and I'm willing to question myself on the issue. I never mind a big head, especially on a beer where I'm looking to get big aromas of coffee, vanilla, etc. Should I be embarrassed of a 3 to 4 finger head on a beer like that?
If you are getting a beer a a bar with a three or four finger head there may be an issue. At home? No issue what so ever.
Yeah, pour your beer how you see fit. Head isn't really subject for snobbery. I've had a few at bars that the head was iffy and had bartenders tell me that it's a bit of an aggressive head and they usually end up topping it off for me. ...must resist a joke.....
IMO, your pour should always have some head. If there is no turbulence to your pour, it is that much harder to get aromas to lift off it. So long as you aren't ending up with an island of head that persists throughout drinking the entire beer, although that may be a defect in the beer itself.
Not at all! The only time people really bitch about the size of a beers head is when they are paying for draft beer at a bar, and a large part of the beer is all head. But when your pouring a beer yourself from a bottle, I to like to pour fairly aggressively to give a nice size head, and let the head settle down as needed. Top off, and enjoy...
Great topic. Great head is essential for world class reverence. Provided it goes the distance and isn't force poured.
Unless your buddy belongs to some hokey religion where the remaining beer in the bottle is a tithe to the libation fairy, tell him to settle down. It will alll make its way to the gullet eventually.
Right, exactly. Personally, I like to do two things when I pour beer at home: 1) get the entire bottle out in one pour for 12 oz bottles (or all that I'm drinking if it's a homebrew or something else where I don't want to drink sediment) and 2) not make a mess. Typically I take a big, Hefeweizen glass and just give a nice pour at a 45 degree angle and get a nice big head.
For a while there I was doing the same thing for most beers, after all of my favorite stems eventually all got broken. A hefeweizen glass is underrated as an all-purpose glass- directs the aroma nicely, and allows for a good head on a 12 oz. pour.
Big head on a craft brew is better in my opinion. You did it right. Your friend needs to get some actual head and then chill out.
has beer snobbery gotten that bad? Are personal, at home, pours really ever "embarrassing"? I don't see the big deal...
Are you kidding me? Nothing is better than being challenged and coming out on top in an almost meaningless debate. Pour what you want, the internet supports your decision! (If you are a bartender and handing a customer a 1/4 glass of foam, then shame on you)
You should be embarrassed that you're friends with someone who forced you to go online and ask if you should be embarrassed.
It didn't seemed forced. More like someone who had a more informed opinion about head on beer wanted to see if his buddy was full of it. Possibly he knew the answer and posed it as a question to get a consensus of beer nerds to rally to his cause and stamp out ignorance. I love the internet. If she were a woman she would be a beautiful genius.
Anyway ... getting tired of cleaning up the sophomoric "head" jokes from the peanut gallery. To the OP: Seriously, there's no need to question yourself or feel embarrassed. Enjoy your beer the way you want to pour it. Oh, and tell your buddy everyone on BA said he's wrong. Cheers!
