Here we are at reason #4. You may recall we’ve talked about how branded beer glasses are important because guests want them, how they impact the flavour of the beer, and how it helps your restaurant run smoother. Today we’re going to put on our white lab coats and get all science-like. Nucleation is our topic.
You may have noticed recently that most branded glasses are etched on the bottom, inside of the glass. Usually it is in the shape of the beer’s logo, like the Heineken glass pictured. That logo has been etched with a “frikin’ laser beam” (little finger to corner of mouth).
The best way to think of this is the Diet Coke and Mentos Mints science guys on You Tube. In case you forgot about them, you can see some of their work here. Also, we added a Myth Busters video below that explains it. But simply explained, Mentos Mints are very coarse on the outside and when CO2 gas touches the coarse surface of the mint, the gas converts to a bubble and it rises to the top. This nucleation in a branded beer glass allows the CO2 in the beer to release easier creating a constant stream of free-flowing bubbles all the way up from the bottom of the glass to the top. Upon reaching the top, the bubbles turn to foam. In beer, this helps with the head retention of the beer – making it taste better.
Most generic, un-branded glasses are not nucleated which means that there is a greater chance of poor head retention and a lower quality of beer.
Cheers to science!