Ever since I’ve been in the habit of Guinness, I’ve made a point of letting it ‘settle’ before taking the first (delicious!) sip. By settling, I mean that I wait for all of the bubbles in the body of the pint to disappear, leaving it a pure inky black. I’m sure that someone else told me that this was the proper way to drink a Guinness, but I can’t point to any specific place that I picked this bit of ale-lore up. Naturally, I observe the same protocol with other nitrogenated beers, such as Old Speckled Hen or Boddingtons. (As an aside, OSH is likely my favorite beer at the moment, but only from a PDC or a nitro draught. I wonder how long before other companies license or develop their own version of the ‘rocket widget’ bottled Guinness approach?)
I never really gave the ritual any thought, but when I passed it along to a friend he insisted I offer up reasons. I couldn’t. The web references I found are to the two-stage pour, and make no reference to letting the beer settle once it’s actually in your hands. So, is there any benefit to this practice, or is it just a culinary superstition of sorts?
(Also: What the point of the ‘ultrasonic’ vibrating platforms that essentially put a head on still Guinness in bars? I don’t see why a bar would prefer this to just buying PDCs, if they don’t want to put in a nitro system.)
I never knew you were supposed to let a Guinness settle, so I always drink it with the head. If I might wager a guess, it’s better to let it settle so that you don’t end up with a stupid looking beer-stache.
The head stays after it’s settled. The head on nitrogenated beers is unusually persistent; other than a break that develops on whatever side I’m drinking from, the head is usually there all the way down to the last gulp.
As I said, I’m aware of the two-stage pour. Descriptions of it emphasize letting the beer settle between the first and second stage of the pour. I’m curious as to why/whether you should let the beer settle after the 'tender hands it to you.
See Small Hen’s answer above. Foamy Guinness lacks essential goodness, and you look stupid with foam all over your face. Besides, some things are just worth waiting for.
Nothing to really add to the answer, but the “settling” is refered to cascading, and it’s most dramatic with a relatively clear beer, like Boddington’s or Kilkenny, where you can see it better than a dark nectar-of-the-Gods like Guinness.
ETA: Here’s a video of a cascading pint of guinness, to demonstrate.
I’ve always let it settle so the head would be “complete.” I like the head. It’s creamy and yummy. I like rolling the different textures (creamy head, liquidy beer) around in my mouth. I can’t imagine you’d get the same effect if half the glass was still halfway between “beer” and “head.”