Serving Bottled Beer

Question 1

Bottle-conditioned beers (most craft beer) should be stored upright:

Answer 1

This allows the yeast to settle on the bottom of the bottle.
ii) Bottles should be stored at the ideal serving temperature for the style. It’s best to store the bottles in a refrigerator (43°F or less) or cool cellar.

Question 2

Examine the bottle:

Answer 2

White flakes in it mean it’s probably a very old and unstable beer. Do not
serve it to a customer.

Question 3

Ring of gunk at the liquid level in the neck of the bottle usually indicates:

Answer 3

the bottle has been infected by foreign microbes. Do not serve.

Question 4

Yeast on the bottom of the bottle:

Answer 4

Leave the yeast in the bottle when you pour, unless
(a) The customer requests the yeast be poured, or
(b) That style of beer is traditionally poured with the yeast, such as for
a hefeweizen.

Question 5

How to pour the yeast for hefeweizens:

Answer 5

Pour the beer, but leave a
small amount of beer in the bottle, then rouse and mix the yeast into that beer by swirling it in the bottle, or by rolling the bottle on its side on the bar top, or by totally inverting the bottle if doing a fancy pour. Here are several demos of the inverted pour for wheat beers:Note that many of these pourers also rouse the yeast at the end of the pour by swirling the bottle before pouring the final bit of yeast in on top of the head.