A Cure for Cheap Beer?

Open the fridge, grab a frosty one, pop off the cap and enjoy. That’s the ritual performed countless times a day by us beer drinkers. And we’re all doing it wrong.

At least, that’s what Philip Petracca, co-founder of New Hampshire-based Fizzics, believes. His company’s mission is to give every one of us the “perfect pour.” How? With a home beer tap machine that uses science to improve the drinking experience, regardless of the brand. The secret to making any beer taste better is in getting a better head, Petracca claims. Beer in cans, bottles or barrels contains a lot of dissolved CO2 under pressure, he says, and when improperly handled it can cause bubbles and foam to overflow or improperly foam.

So, if the bubbles are too big — a common result of a hand-pour — our mouths perceive a “grainy” feel, which can lead many a beer drinker to avoid pouring heads altogether. But that’s a mistake, according to Petracca. Not only does the head insulate the rest of the beer from flavor-robbing oxygen (even a few minutes of air exposure can degrade the taste), but it can also help seal in the gases that give beer its effervescence, something that likewise maximizes flavor.

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