Yesterday a number of different publications, Complex included, gathered inside Heineken's midtown office to talk draught beer. The Dutch brewery wants to let folks know that Heiney is making a push to be available on tap everywhere you're craving a cold one. In their immaculate and posh offices, we were instructed as to how to properly pour a Heineken using their in office bar. This was the first stage of the event; the second would be a competition to discover which mag draws the best draught.
When approaching a seemingly difficult physical task, there's often a pithy bit of advice waiting for you. It's all in the wrist. Or something like that. I learned yesterday that, when pouring a draught beer, there's no analogous saying. You instead have a number of different things to keep in mind. Like when swinging a golf club for the first time after just having been prepped that you have to do x, y, and z, with z being to let yourself forget about all the things you're supposed to be doing as part of this fluid motion. Same thing applies here.
From the mouth of a professional at the Heineken press event, Complex learned how to get down with draught beer.
Step 1: Rinse the glass (this won't always be necessary or possible).
Step 2: In one fluid motion pull forward on the tap handle, keeping the glass tilted so that the liquid hits the inside at an approximately 45 degree angle.
Step 3: When the liquid reaches the waist of the glass—the glasses we trained on bloomed at the middle like the upper half of a corseted woman—set the glass upright.
Step 4: When the beer is almost at the lip of the glass, shut off the tap.
Step 5: After setting it down to the left or right of the dripping spout, scrape away the excess head with a skimmer to create a tight seal on the beer, effectively trapping the carbon dioxide while keeping excess oxygen out. Be sure to hold the skimmer at a 45 degree angle.
Step 6: Toss out a fresh coaster and present it to the person drinking.
Six steps, no handy catchall phrase. After three rounds of head-to-head pouring, a victor emerged: Complex. Ask about us.
