We’d all like to think that with so many years of beer experience under our belt, we know everything there is to drinking beer right. I did too. But oh, how wrong I was! Here’s how you can correct all the ways you’ve been messing up your beer and make it taste even better.
Frosty glasses and over-chilled beer: Yep, despite popular opinion, pouring your highly chilled ber into a highly chilled glass is the worst thing you could be doing to your beer. Frosted glasses tend to kill the aroma and flavour of the beer. The best way to serve most beers is at a temperature slightly higher than your fridge.
Exposure to sunlight: Please, for the love of god, don’t store your beer within reach of light. This changes the flavour immensely and is called being ‘light-struck’. If you don’t want to have a strange, ‘skunky’ taste to your beer, it’s best to opt for beer that comes in dark, brown bottles and covering beer that’s not in the fridge. Another pro-tip – store them upright and never on their side.
Foam: Yes, college was very different. Not having a single trace of foam when pouring a glass of beer was considered a competitive sport then but things should be different now. The ‘head’, as it’s called, helps release aromas and also, surprisingly, helps keep the beer cold longer.
The bottle: You may have noticed this before we mentioned it but there’s a stark difference in taste when chugging from a bottle vs a mug or glass. It’s high time we leave the bottle behind and opt for a glass made of natural material, so our tongue’s taste sensors are able to enjoy the whole flavour.
Storage time: Remember that beer bottle that’s been in the fridge for the past month from when your friends came over? Well, if it’s not a dark stout, you’re probably going to have to ditch it. Beers that are hops-heavy tend to die a quick death with aging and do not remain as aromatic as they used to be.