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It wasn’t that long ago that the common wisdom around pouring beer was that you wanted as little foam as possible, but things are changing. To catch up on the latest beer pouring trends, Tasting Table reached out to Jeff Tyler, co-owner and head brewer for Spice Trade Brewery & Kitchen. “The two most important things to keep in mind when pouring beer from either a can or bottle is knowing what style of beer it is, and how it was carbonated,” Tyler told us.

“With force carbonated beer (i.e. 95% of beer that you will buy in the liquor store) … you typically want to pour the beer a bit more aggressively than you would think, directly into the bottom of the glass or with the glass at a slight angle,” explains Tyler. “The goal here is to allow a good amount of the CO2 to ‘break out’ of solution (get foamy) while you are pouring.”

Since most people tend to avoid the foam, we asked him why they should switch up their practice. “The thought behind this more aggressive pour is that you really don’t want all of those bubbles staying in the beer because they’ll end up in your stomach and you’ll end up burping it all out. Less CO2 means you still get the aroma … but it saves you from filling your whole stomach with beer foam.” The same idea goes for draft beers, regardless of whether the beer is dark or light.

What about the other 5% of beers? As stated by Jeff Tyler, you should seek the terms “naturally carbonated” or “bottle/can conditioned” on the packaging itself. He explains, “This indicates that yeast and a minor amount of sugar were added to the bottle or can immediately before its closure.” The yeast ferments the sugar, resulting in carbonation within the bottle. While this method is not widespread, it can be found in certain Belgian and sour style beers.

This procedure can leave some sediment at the bottle or can’s bottom. Tyler advises that when pouring, do it softly and ideally in one go (not tilting the bottle up and down as this could mix the yeast). “Reserve the last ounces of beer in the bottle and you should achieve a clear pour in your glass with any leftover yeast in the bottle.” This is the same process for hefeweizens and hazy IPAs, which tend to have sediment.

The takeaway here is to let the carbonation release so that you don’t end up with a gurgling stomach whenever you’re drinking at a bar. And if you’re consuming a unique craft beer with sediment at the bottom, just leave it unpoured to avoid consuming the sediments.

Peruse the original article on Tasting Table.