Wondering what does “zythophile” mean? A person who loves chugging or drinking beer, obsessed with beer, loves to talk about bear, cook with beer is called as zythophile. Beer is one of the oldest fermented drinks in the world and people have been chugging it from several years. But drinking beer is an art in itself. People these days over occupied with their hefty work load and tight schedules when finally hit weekends, being overwhelmed end up at the pub and get sunk in the beer mugs like no one’s watching. But they make a drinking blunder by probably not taking some time to savor and taste it. If you don’t have enough experience of drinking beer then you might need to work on beer drinking etiquettes to drink beer like a pro. Here are the tips to follow while you drink beer next time:
1. Wait till everyone has their beer in the hand
This includes in drinking manners, beer is enjoyed well when everyone is drinking together, which follows with everyone saying “cheers” and start chugging. It is one of the drinking manners to wait till everyone gets the glass in the hand unless you’re drinking solo.
2. Choose the right beer for you
It is totally wrong if you choosing your beer just because the crowd is having it too. Every person has different taste and preference when it comes to beer and you never know what flavour or which variety of beer you might like. Hence it is important to know which is the right beer for you. Talking about varieties, the most common variety of beer includes ale beer, wheat beer, stout beer, porter beer, bitter beer, larger beer and light beer.
3. Know the right glass for the right beer
If you think you can have your beer just in any glass or a mug, well, you really need to follow this tip while drinking beer next time. Just like there is a wide variety of beer to chug on, there are a wide range of glasses or vessels to drink your beer in. Each style of glass has a specific designated type of beer to pour in.
- Mugs are suitable for smoked beer, IPA, Witbier, Pilsner, English Stout, Blonde American Ale.
- Pint glasses are for American Ale, English Bitter Ale, Pale Ale, Cream Ale, Dark Stout.
- Goblet glasses are preferred for Tripel Beer, Quadruple Beer, Belgian IPA, Strong Dark Ales.
- Tulip glasses for American Black Ale, Belgian Blonde Ale, Fruit Beer, Spiced Beer, Flanders Red Ale.
- Pilsner glasses are mostly preferred for Doppelbock Beer, Japanese Larger, American Malt Liquor, Vienna Larger, Pale and Red Larger.
- Weizen glasses are intended for stylish beers like Weizen White Beer, Pale Wheat Ale, Dark Wheat Ale.
- Stange Glasses are for traditional Kolsch Beer.
4. Compliment your beer with a sidekick meal
Drinking beer needs to be paired with specific food. Different beers go with specific variety of foods, you might not know. Hoppy brewed beers go perfectly with fried food, pizza, salmon while sweet beer with fruity flavor goes with high fat cheeses, bruschetta or grape. Beer with coffee, caramel or cocoa taste goes best with smoked meat like barbeque. Dark brew beer goes well with heavy food like red meat and light beer with fish and salads.
5. Pouring beer needs perfection
You have no idea, what it takes to drink one pint of beer. Ultimate perfection, traditional beer knowledge, beer drinking etiquettes, knowledge of right temperature and right glass for right beer and many more. First you choose the clean glass of right size and shape. You cannot go with a dirty uncleaned glass as it negatively affects beer taste and aroma. Commence pouring beer first down the glass’s side precisely at 45-degree angle from the height of at least 0.7 to 1.3 inches. Gradually level the glass, when it’s half-full to minimize the created head. The formed foam needs to be settled a bit, hence wait before filling it to 3/4 of its height. Some barkeepers believe in double pouring method to enhance beer’s aroma. This one is one of the useful tips to follow while you drink your beer this coming weekend.
6. Know the right temperature of your beer
Most beers according to the bartenders are meant to be served just above the room temperature by keeping the bottle or can in the fridge for 10 minutes and taking it out to sit on the countertop for another 10 minutes. Some English beers are even served warm at 10C or at 50 F.
7. Don’t brush off the foam
The beer’s head is a good thing when it’s poured right. A creamy foam keeps a great taste, hence don’t brush it off from your glass. So, the right way to deal with the beer head is to let it pass through your lips covering your tongue and gradually you will notice more flavour and aroma than before.
8. Savor the aroma and taste right away
While drinking beer, don’t just gulp it down. You need to savor the aroma, taking few whiffs through your nose and identifying the real ingredient. After getting the hint of aroma, next comes the taste to by taking a small slow sip of it without gulping it down immediately. Let the taste sit in your mouth for a while and try to get the taste and flavor on the palate. The high-quality beer brands don’t get mixed with taste and aroma, rather they integrate.
9. Never neglect a served beer or an opened can
If you are a pub goer and more of a gossip person, you need to be careful if you have opened can of beer, or bottle or even a served pint of beer in your hand. Served beer or opened beer on releasing its original temperature or the ideal temperature starts getting stale, which means the warmer it gets, the staler it becomes. Hence, do not pause if you’re a real bear lover.
10. Don’t frost the serving glass
People think getting frosty glasses improves and enhances the taste of beer, but the truth is otherwise. Frozen glasses make beer make more foam, ruining the aroma of the beer as well as carbonation. Rather prefer your beer in a glass or mug stored at room temperature.
11. Never go for sun exposed beer
When bear in stores is sun exposed or when you are on a trip or vacation and your beer bottles lies uncased, with direct exposure to sun, the taste of beer turns unpleasant. The smell you get from sun exposed beer is called skunked smell. Hence, another tip to follow while drinking your beer is to go for the beer that are stored in cool and dry out of sunlight’s reach to retain the original taste and aroma of beer.
12. Don’t frost your beer either
Drinking beer icy-cold or severe chilled affects the flavor and aroma negatively. To get the maximum aroma and taste of your beer is to select the bottle or can stored at just above the room temperature.
13. Never store beer for too long
Hoarding beer bottles and cans to store it in the freezer is commonly preferred by many beer lovers especially singles and bachelors to have an indoor party or for movie binge watch or to enjoy the live soccer match. But the left-over bottles are later stored in the freezer and that might be there for too long waiting for that special occasion or excuse to be opened and savored. “Too long” can be for several months, that affects the aroma and taste of beer negatively because beer tends to age quickly. The top quality beers have short period of shelve life after leaving the brewery.