Correct Pouring

Step by Step for a Perfect Beer

Fresh, dry and bitter to the taste, an even foam head with extra-fine bubbles, and a cool and light tingle on the tongue with the first sip – a perfectly poured beer isn’t rocket science. And no, it also shouldn’t take you seven minutes to pour! Three minutes is long enough. Any longer and the beer will get warm and flat from sitting on the bar. By following some important basic rules, anyone can enjoy a perfectly poured beer.

 

The Most Important Steps in Tapping:

  1. Rinse the glass with clean, cold water
    For a beautiful foam head, the glass has to be free from grease and detergent residues. So the glass should be rinsed with fresh, cold water immediately before use. The cold water also cools the glass. You will only get a foam head with a creamy consistency if the glass is cold. If the glass is warm, the beer loses its carbonation quickly and goes flat.
     
  2. Hold the glass at an angle under the open tap
    The glass should be held at an angle under the tap, so that the beer can run down the side of the inside of the glass. This way, the beer will keep as much carbonation as possible. When pouring, the beer tap should be fully open. If the tap is only partially open, the beer is squeezed out through a smaller opening and it loses quality.
     
  3. Fill up to two thirds, then leave it to settle
    The glass should be filled up to about the two-thirds mark, then left to settle for about one minute. 
     
  4. Topping up and leaving to rest again
    You can now top up the beer. Take care to ensure that the tap nozzle is not immersed in the beer, as this will push air into the beer and displace the carbonation. Now leave the beer to settle for another minute.
     
  5. The perfect foam head
    To finish the beer, top with a foamy head. Now the glass of beer can be served to the guest with a drip catcher, on a Bitburger beer mat as well, for them to enjoy their perfect Premium Pils.

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A Few DON’Ts for Pouring a Beer

Fresh draft beer is one of the ultimate pleasures in life – and pouring one is an art you really should learn. Nevertheless, there are always some problems when it comes to beer taps and pouring. When pouring a beer, you should never...

 

  1. Pre-pour a beer
    To avoid beer going flat and warm, beer shouldn’t be pre-poured and left in the glass. Whoever orders a draft beer is looking for absolute refreshment. 

  2. Use poorly rinsed glassware
    Purity and hygiene are key to pouring draft beer. Therefore, always take great care in ensuring your glassware is really clean. You can easily recognise if a glass has not been properly cleaned, as small bubbles of carbon dioxide cling to the inside of the glass after you have finished pouring. 

  3. Use household detergents
    Conventional detergents are only suitable for rinsing beer glasses to a limited extent. When not used in the correct dose, or if it remains in the glass, this results in an unstable foam head. It’s better to use a special detergent for cleaning glassware than use regular household detergents. It is usually obvious from the beer’s foam head if a conventional household detergent has been used:larger bubbles will form at first, then collapse away quite quickly. 

  4. Pour beer from one glass into another
    You should never pour beer between glasses. You can’t make a fresh beer from mixing two flat beers together. It just doesn’t work that way! On the contrary, this causes the beer to lose its carbonation and also go warm faster.