Beer foam

E. Segel, P. R. Glenister, and K. G. Koeppl

Abstract
Foam, like flavor, is a complex entity. To be meaningful, evaluation of foam by the brewer should deal with those aspects significant to the consumer; creaminess, cling and collapse rate. Creaminess can be subdivided into four attributes: whiteness, bubble size, density and viscosity. Data are presented which indicate that foam characteristics are strongly affected by the method of foam generation. Certain laboratory procedures, as the Foam Flashing Method, give foams very different from those obtained by hand pouring casting doubt on their validity. Suggestions are made for the practical evaluation of beer foam.