I can’t say that I’ve ever directly asked that question to a bartender for fear he might spit in my beer. But it actually doesn’t take long to figure out the answer for yourself. The criteria is simple: Is your serving glass clean enough to allow a proper head to form on the beer, and will it maintain that head? Are the carbonation bubbles forming and not sticking to the inside of the glass? If so, then it is ‘beer-clean.’ Even glasses that have been cleaned free of debris and germs may not pass the test.

Trade abuse of glassware is just going to happen. Bus-pans full of salad dressing mixed with who knows what; and in the bottom is a beer glass. There is also Aunt Millie, who along with her occasional beer, leaves a bit of her lipstick with every sip. That glass didn’t have a scarlet rim when it arrived from the restaurant supply. Even after a 190-degree, soapy trip through the commercial dishwasher, traces of Aunt Millie’s DNA can still be found. It’s the fats and oils that are the usual suspects. Lipstick on any glass is just plain gross!

Many bars, restaurants and homes try very hard to present an obviously clean glass to the guest. Some may even be obsessive about getting them spotless. Bar-sink sanitizers claim to be “no-rinse,” but will kill the head on a beer if not rinsed. Many automatic dishwashers use rinse agents in order to assure there are no water-spots on the glass. Rinse agents do this by using chemical surfactants, which also work against beer head formation. I hand wash all of my bar-ware at home with a very little bit of Dawn.

A good head on a beer is a wonderful thing. It allows the beer to open up and share its most suttle aromas with the drinker. An expert pour will leave a head that is about the width of two fingers. Most brewers take great care during the brewing process to maintain a beer’s proper head-forming proteins while minimizing the proteins that give haze to the beer. Weizen and Witbier are exceptions to the latter.

I have posted a picture (above-click to enlarge) of two identical glasses of a Czech Pilsener, with yours truly as the brewer. I slightly coated the glass on the right with margarine and then rinsed it clean to achieve a clean glass with a slight film like you might find in the real world. The other glass is obviously beer-clean. Notice the great head that the brewer intended evident in the glass on the right. I poured that beer a full minute before I poured the other. I waited 30 more seconds and took the picture, then quaffed down both of them.

Of course if all you do is drink American Macro Lager, then it won’t make much of a difference to you. You may not even use a glass. In fact you might be the guy that complains about not getting a full glass of beer if it has any head at all …

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