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You’re not doing that right
Published
5 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersBy Scott Mechura EBS FOOD COLUMNIST
If you think about it, just about any one of us could find something that we think we do correctly and most other people, if not all, do wrong. It could be how most folks pronounce a word. It may be a simple process that everyone does, such as packing a grocery bag.
We think to ourselves: “What are they doing? Don’t they know that’s wrong?”
As an experienced chef, that list of things I would perceive people do incorrectly is probably longer than the average person’s.
But there is one task—one very simple thing that is so benign that I bet very few people even believe there is a right or wrong way to do it—and the wrong way is so ingrained in our society that it has become a real challenge to convince people their method is incorrect. But again, as a chef, we have a saying: “There is a right and wrong way to do everything.”
Virtually no one knows how to do this: I’m talking about the correct way to pour a beer.
Think back to when beer commercials were prevalent on television. Miller High Life, Löwenbräu, Budweiser and countless others that dominated our prime time advertising. Almost every commercial ended with a close-up of a beautifully golden beer being poured into a glass. And in every one of those commercials the beer had a healthy head of foam.
Fast forward to the mid 1990s. Small breweries and brewpubs began emerging in areas like the West Coast, Midwest, and the Northeast. Congruently, and I can’t seem to find out why, Americans began pouring tap beers fuller than a diner glass of milk.
It has now become so indelible in our psyche that if we now receive a beer with a head, we believe we have been slighted or shorted by the bartender.
So just how do you pour a proper beer? Start by tipping the glass like usual, but then once the glass is about one-third full, begin tipping the glass vertical again, while continuing to pour down the side of the glass. When done properly, your beer should have between one-and-a-half and two fingers of head on it. That is a properly poured beer.
“I don’t drink beer. It’s just too filling.” I hear that all the time. My response:
That’s because they aren’t pouring it right. That’s about the time I get a puzzled condescending look.
Beer is a heavily carbonated beverage. Some of that carbonation is naturally created as the yeast consumes the sugars in the unfermented beer, or wort, and converts it to alcohol. Some of that CO2 dissipates while some is intentionally captured. Then even more CO2 is incorporated. This is predominantly what is filling you up.
The next time you are served a beer at a bar, ask for a napkin. Fold it up into a tube shape with as much surface area as you can create. Drink the top quarter inch of the top. Next, quickly dunk the napkin all the way in and quickly remove it.
What happens next will have your bartender rushing over with a bar towel asking what happened as it erupts like the Yellowstone supervolcano. All that CO2 getting released and causing a huge mess would otherwise be trapped in your stomach with nowhere to go. No wonder we say beer is filling.
So the solution is simple, since I highly doubt manufacturers will begin making larger glasses, simply charge an ever so slightly less price and pour the beer with a proper head on it. Then everyone wins. And I would argue that because beer drinkers would feel less full, as they should, it could easily mean the difference in purchasing one more. I personally have put that to the test.
Scott Mechura has spent a life in the hospitality industry. He is a former certified beer judge and currently the executive chef at Buck’s T-4 Lodge in Big Sky.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
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april, 2024
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Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
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Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
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March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
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169 Snowy Mountain Circle
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
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Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
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Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
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(Wednesday) 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
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The Waypoint
50 Ousel Falls Rd