When Ken Grossman founded the Brewers Association’s Draught Beer Quality Subcommittee (DBQ) in 2007, the mission was simple: fix a broken system. Nearly two decades later, that same commitment to quality is leading craft brewers back to the very techniques DBQ once stood against — proof that even rigid standards can evolve.

A Culture in Need of Fixing

There was a culture around draught beer in the U.S. in the early 2000s — it just wasn’t a good one. Poorly maintained draught systems, dirty glassware, and air compressors pushing beer to the taps were the norm. The DBQ addressed these weaknesses. In addition to developing and disseminating best practices to deliver quality draught beer to the beer drinker, the group became a part of an effort to build a culture unique to the U.S. around draught beer service.

New Glassware, One Right Way to Pour

Some aspects of this newly developing culture were borrowed from other countries. For example, escaping the tyranny of the shaker “pint” glass and the constrictions of limited beer styles, craft beer experimented with different styles and shapes of glassware to accentuate the multitude of flavors and character of both traditional and uniquely U.S. styles of beer. This practice, of course, was copied from various European beer cultures. However, when it came to pouring beer, DBQ was dogmatic. A standard method of pouring beer at the tap was recommended across most, if not all, styles of beer.

Why Rigid Made Sense

This dogmatic approach to pouring was not without logic or merit. Unsanitary or wasteful methods of pouring were a part of the old, outdated draught beer culture. Development of a standard best practice pouring method was important to improving quality and profitability. DBQ even provides recommendations on types of taps. A seen in this video, the “right way” to pour that DBQ developed never allows the tap nozzle to touch the glass or be submerged into the liquid.

DBQ’s standard pour solved real problems, and for most draught beer, it still holds up. But the same curiosity that pushed craft brewers to explore new styles and ingredients eventually turned toward the pour itself. If a Belgian tulip glass could change how a beer is experienced, why not the tap, the angle, the foam? The next chapter of DBQ’s story wasn’t written by the subcommittee — it was written by brewers and bartenders borrowing from beer cultures with their own hard-won pouring traditions.

Alternative Pouring Methods

Three examples of different methods of pouring come to mind as playing a part, or having played a part, in contemporary draught craft beer service. Cask ale, dispensed through a beer engine, also called a hand pump, or gravity dispensed had its day in the development of craft. The Real Ale Festival in Chicago ran for seven years in the late 1990s until the early 2000s and attracted over 100 domestic and international cask ales. While there are currently smaller cask ale festivals across the U.S., real ale dispensed from a beer engine has become a niche product, especially in the face of a consumer trend towards lighter and more highly carbonated products.

A second method of pouring draught beer in the U.S. that has attracted growing interest over the past few years are the variety of Czech style pours. In Czech beer culture, the výčepní, or tapster, approaches serving the beer with the same level of seriousness that is given to brewing it. Czech side-pull taps allow finer control over flow rate and foam texture than standard taps. Different pours, such as hladinka, šnyt, mlíko, and others serve different purposes and can deliver very different sensory experiences from the same beer.

A third method that is currently gaining attention in the U.S. is the Japanese sharp pour. Designed to present a beer with locked in carbonation, flavor, and aroma using the “golden ratio” of 70% beer and 30% foam, a dense foam is created by intentionally overflowing the lighter foam on the top leaving dense foam that traps carbonation, flavor and aroma. This method typically is used for lighter beers that are served ice cold.

Elevating the Image of Beer

What these three methods of pouring draught beer have in common, in addition to creating a unique and different sensory experience, is the visual spectacle that enhances the beer drinkers experience. Different pouring methods can be a point of differentiation for craft brewery taprooms and brewpubs looking to stand out in a competitive market. Besides the visual and organoleptic aspects of these methods of pouring draught beer, delivering an experience that goes beyond the standard draught beer pour elevates the image of craft beer in the beer drinkers’ eyes and speaks to the brewer’s commitment to the product and the craft.

Another aspect that these three poring methods have in common is that all three violate a basic tenant of DBQ’s best practice recommendation for pouring draught beer. From both a quality and sanitary perspective, recommended best practice for pouring in the U.S. dictates that the tap never touch the beer or the glass. All three of the above methods require that the tap be submerged into the beer. Serving draught beer requires a constant and dedicated commitment to quality. Immersion pours, as detailed above, demand even more attention to detail. These pouring methods have worked for these beer cultures because of their commitment to detail and quality. Delivering the same level of dedication and pride to serving beer as craft brewers give to brewing beer will continue to elevate the culture of beer in the U.S.

Dig down into the details of how to serve quality draught beer in a way that surpasses the expectations of beer drinkers: Draught Beer Quality Manual, Fourth Edition.