Dan Ritchie on Pouring A Great Beer

To many, pouring a glass of beer is far from a science. As long as it gets in the glass, we’re happy.

But for others, like Dan Ritchie of Draught Beer Systems, there’s an art to pouring a great beer. He’ll be telling us all about it at the Door County Beer Festival. Ritchie has been cleaning hundreds of beer lines and installing tap systems throughout Northeastern Wisconsin for more than five years.

Dan Ritchie’s Tips for Pouring A Great Beer

1. Never lean the glass against the faucet.

“Almost everybody does this, even most bartenders,” he says. “It’s terrible. You actually don’t want to pour at an angle at all, because you won’t get head on the beer. That head allows the CO2 to get out of the beer and let the malt flavor come through.”

2. Clean your lines

Whether you have a simple home tap or a full-fledged bar, Ritchie says your lines should be cleaned regularly to keep the flavor clean. Most bars will want to have their lines cleaned every two weeks. If they aren’t, a good taster will know it.

3. Know your chemicals

“I’ll be talking about what chemicals you should use, but more importantly, what you should stay away from that will damage your lines,” he says.

Ritchie will have a booth with beer line cleaning products and information on his services on the grounds. He does sales and service and specializes in glycol beer systems.

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