Use a clean glass. A dirty glass, containing oils, dirt or residuals from a previous beer, may inhibit head creation and flavours.

Hold your glass at a 45° angle. Pour the beer, targeting the middle of the slope of the glass. Don't be afraid to pour hard or add some air between the bottle and glass.

At the half-way point bring the glass at a 90° angle and continue to pour in the middle of the glass. This will induce the perfect foam head. And remember, having a head on a beer is a good thing. It releases the beer’s aromatics and adds to the overall presentation. You may also want to gradually add distance between the bottle and glass as you pour, to also inspire a good head. An ideal head should be 1" to 1-1/2".

Stout

The first requirement is an imperial pint (20oz) glass. The glass should be clean, dry, and room temperature. In no circumstances use a chilled glass, or one that has not been cleaned properly. NOTE: a properly prepared glass will exhibit excellent ring-sustaining features.

Hold the glass at a 45 degree angle close to the spout to prevent large bubbles from forming in the head. Pull the tap fully open and fill the glass 75 percent full.

Allow the stout to settle completely before filling the rest of the glass. The creamy head will separate from the dark body.

To top off the pint, push the tap forward slightly until the head rises just proud of the rim. Never allow the stout to overflow or run down the glass.

Beer Glass

Once a beer is freed from its capped prison and released into a drinking vessel, its flavours, aromas and colour become more pronounced and change, depending on the glassware into which it is poured. The glass is basically your friend and will aid you in achieving maximum sensory perception while drinking your beer. Drink from a bottle and you'll simply miss out, not to mention become bloated due to a higher level of carbonation.

Let's not forget that the correct glass will also add something else to the experience, eye candy. Imagine drinking a cold Pilsner from a long tapered glass, a Trappist beer from a gold hilted rim chalice or a Common Bitter out of an Imperial pint glass. Some Belgian glasses even have small scratches on the inside bottom of the glass to induce a steady amount of carbonation, thus maintaining head retention. It's all pretty damn cool.

Now there are hundreds of beer styles, thousands of beer brands and hundreds, if not thousands, of accompanying vessels for each beer. The number of Belgian beer glasses alone is enough to make you cry with confusion. Given this we can't obviously cover every matching of beer to glass, however the following quick guide of suggestions should cover most beers that you encounter and arm you with a very versatile arsenal of glassware.

Pint Glass

This is your typical beer glass. Wide-mouthed and near cylindrical. There are two standard sizes, the 16-ounce US glass or the 20-ounce Imperial glass - which has a bulge towards the top . Most ales are well-suited for this type of glassware. The 20-ounce version is preferred to accommodate more beer and beers with large crowning heads.

Flute

Flute glasses lend a much deserved elegance to certain types of beer, ensuring that the beer's carbonation doesn't dissipate too quickly and showcases its colour. Commonly used for champagne, in the beer world it is ideal for Belgian-style lambics, fruit lambics and gueuze beers, to name a few. Stems will often be a bit shorter than the traditional champagne glass.

Pilsner Glass

Typically a thin, tall, slender and tapered 12-ounce glass. This type of glass captures the sparkling effervesces within the beer and maintains its head retention. Ideal for European, German, American and Czech-style pilsners and lagers. Wheat beers, especially of Germanic origin, are often served in taller versions of a pilsner glass, due to their being bottled in larger sizes and to accommodate their huge heads.

Goblet

These wide-bowled glasses are perfect for capturing the aromas of most strong ales, like barleywine-style ales. They are commonly small, due to the contents high alcohol, and have small stems to help in twirling the beer and agitating the aroma and head. Some goblets can get quite big, resembling a chalice.

Tulip

Similar to the goblet, but tulip-shaped wherein the top of the glass pushes out a bit to form a lip in order to capture the head, if properly poured. This type of glassware is ideal for most Belgian-style beers.

Chalice

Traditionally reserved for Belgian-style or Trappist and Abbey dubbels and triples. These are very majestic pieces of work and often the rims are laced with silver or gold. These are often designed to maintain a 2-centimeter head, which allows for suitable combination of flavours and aromas to emerge.

Mug

Heavy, sturdy, large and with handle, the mug is a fun and serious piece of glassware. They come in many sizes and shapes and are suitable for most ales. The best part of using a mug is that you can clink them together with more confidence than other types of glassware. You might find dimpled cylindrical mugs which are sometimes used to serve Altbiers or Oktoberfest/Mäzen beers. If you buy any mug, make sure it's at least 0.5L in size so it'll accommodate more beer, which is a good thing.

Handling Your Glassware:

Never chill your glassware, and decline if served a frosted glass. Why? As the beer hits the frosted glass condensation will occur and dilute your beer, while at the same time alter the serving temperature.

Hand-wash all glasses. Some dishwasher will leave a residue, which may effect the head retention as well as the flavour and aroma. Use a mild dishwashing soap, and if you are really anal retentive have a separate sponge for your glass ware so there is not cross contamination from greasy food particles on a used sponge. Let them air dry, do not hand dry because the towel may leave dust particles which will affect the head retention. Caring for you glassware in this manner will also protect gold- or silver- rimmed glasses and glasses with silk-screened brewery logos.