Wouldn’t it strike you as tragic, if something like dust, or a spot of dish residue, compromised your beer drinking experience? Or do you like the sight of a glassware that has bubbles clinging on to its inner walls? If you’re like us, we’re pretty sure you wouldn’t want that, would you? A beer clean glass is free of soil and dust. It is in fact free of any residue such as lipstick, grease, chapstick, food or even detergent for that matter.
In general, when you clean something, you’d want to get the dirt and soil out of it. Right? But it’s also oil that you’d want to get rid of. Basically, you don’t wanna leave any residue behind. Sometimes there are invisible oils that can deposit in your glass and affect the appearance and also affect the aroma and flavour perception.
Why does clean glassware matter?
As mentioned above, due to the poor sanitary or cleaning measures, there are residues, fat deposits or oils that are left over in glassware. These affect the appearance where the bubbles would just cling onto the glass walls. It’s absolutely not a good sight to watch. Additionally, you see that your beloved pint will have poor head formation or none at all.
[caption id="attachment_26287" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] An example of a dirty beer mug where the bubbles cling on to the glass walls[/caption]
As you sip through your pint, you might as well notice that the beer doesn’t leave a lace behind, as in there’s no residue of foam that is left behind in a glassware, which we refer to as lacing. In some cases, the leftover residue in a glassware affects the flavour and aroma. Imagine a lipstick imprint that’s on your glass and all you can smell is cherry in a Lager. You can’t blame the brewer for that.
[caption id="attachment_26288" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Courtesy of Cicerone® Certification Program[/caption]
So yeah, cleanliness matters and it affects several different ways to ruin your drinking experience!
How to achieve a beer clean glassware?
There are quite a few methods that are defined by Cicerone® and Draft Beer Quality Manual. From three sink methods to two sink methods to a manual rinse, there are plenty of ways to achieve a beer clean glassware. Please refer to the guidelines that are tagged.
[caption id="attachment_26289" align="aligncenter" width="500"] A beer clean glassware showcases a good lacing just like this. Featured here is a pint of Irish Stout on Nitro. Credits: Beautiful Pints (Instagram)[/caption]
A beer clean glassware showcases a good lacing just like this. Featured here is a pint of Irish Stout on Nitro. Credits: Beautiful Pints (Instagram)
Why celebrate clean glassware?
A beer clean glass leads to beautifully presented beer. When a beer looks in its best presentable shape, you begin to savour it right before the first sip. This is a celebration of exemplary beer service and raising awareness among the industry professionals to spread the word.
[caption id="attachment_26290" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Cicerone® Certification Program[/caption]
Beer clean glass is celebrated every year by the Cicerone® Certification Program on the fourth Saturday of April by raising a pint of your favourite beer. To participate, tag Cicerone and use the hashtag #BeerCleanGlass in photos of beautifully poured beer across social media on April 23rd, 2022.