Perfection in a Heineken pour

HEINEKEN Malaysia’s Star Academy has kickstarted the latest edition of its programme to train bartenders to serve the perfect pour based on the five-step Heineken Pouring Ritual.

The Heineken Star Serve, now in its fifth year, will see Star Academy trainers Jonathan Chong (pix) and Thomas Ling providing professional training to 600 participants across eight cities throughout this month.

The participants will later be put through rigorous theoretical and practical assessments, not just on Heineken product history and knowledge, but also technical know-how, as well as other areas.

The top performers will then enter a national finals competition where the winner will represent Malaysia at the Heineken Global Bartender Finals in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

In past global competitions, Malaysian finalists have made the country proud.

Eddy Jay Jaimin was crowned champion in the 2016 Heineken Global Bartender Finals, while Jimmy Goh Teong Hock was the runner-up in 2013.

The winner this year will be chosen based on his/her skill and knowledge in pouring the perfect pint of premium Heineken draught beer following the five-step Heineken Pouring Ritual of rinse, pour, skim, check and serve:

Step 1: Rise the glass to make it clean and cold.

Step 2: Pour with the glass at a 45° angle for a full, satisfying head.

Step 3: Skim off the foam at a 45° angle to seal the head.

Step 4: Check that the head sits on the horizontal line of the star.

Step 5: Serve on a coaster with the logo facing the drinker.

This golden standard includes ensuring a two-finger foam head to seal in the freshness and full-bodied flavour of the beer.

But then again, less foam does not mean it’s a bad beer.

Another key component to a perfect pour is the scientifically-designed glassware, which brings us to the next factor – beer bubbles.

As one of the most vital constituents of a good pint of beer, the embossed base of the pint glass encourages the best carbonation, making for a long-lasting foam head, which ensures that every sip of beer is as good as its last.