Dispensing at 54 deg. F.
or
The Perfect Pint
(Beer NEVER gets any colder than this!!!)
Step 5
Described below is a "Northern Pour" We strongly feel that anything else is a travesty. We will, however, allow discussion on northern pour vs southern pour, we just can't be swayed. Ron had to observe many a bar maid during our research, sometimes he watched them draw the beer too. He attests that there is no more beautiful a woman as one who knows the secret of the Northern dispense and is willing to prove it.... But we digress.
Two dedicated American beer researchers among a crowd of natives in Great Britian. Here we are attempting to blend in with the locals while sharing a quaff of the local brew. Little do they know that we are two experienced brewers there to gain the "knowledge" for export.
This is the focus of our attention. Perfectly brewed, dispensed and served Real Ales. Note the characteristic tight white head of the Northern Dispense. The clarity of the product and ohhh the flavors (not in picture).
The Northern Dispense - Illustrated
(for Southern dispense go somewhere else, we won't do it)
Immerse the swan neck into the glass all the way to the bottom. Pull with a firm and consistent movement. Lower the glass as it fills but keep the sparkler immersed in the beer, below the surface of the coarse head and in the fine bubbles it will generate.
When the foam reaches the top of the glass, pause and allow the fine bubbles to rise and subside. If pouring a second beer put the glass up onto the drip tray on the bar and let it calm down while starting the second. If only pouring one, let it stay on the drip tray attached to the pump.
Here you can see that the first beer that was drawn has been topped off and settled. The second beer drawn has coalesced into a thick white head over a clear brew. The second glass is now ready to be topped off by using the same procedure as shown above until the head that presents here is blown out of the glass and only little bubbles are cascading up to the surface.
At left
Two beers ready to be served, the patron whose beer is on the right in the photo may legitimally ask for a "Top Up." Please compare this photograph with the spy photo on the right. Any similarities?
