Beer Foam: Friend or Foe?

When Chris Lohring, owner of Notch Brewery in Salem, Massachusetts, installed Lukr taps to pour its line of Czech beers in the authentic Czech way, he knew he’d be bucking the American predilection for foam-free beer, commonly achieved by tipping the pint glass 45 degrees during the pour. In authentic Czech beer, foam is a critical and beloved component, whereas American drinkers tend to see it as wasted space — and even a hornswoggle.

This was July 2016, and at the time, these “side-pull” taps were nearly impossible to get in the United States, but Lohring found a route through a Prague-based beer writer to obtain them, albeit with tightly crossed fingers that the money he’d wired would be requited. It was, and after the four-faucet tower arrived and was installed, it began pouring beer — Czech beer, specifically — in a whole new way for Americans.

Seven years later, with Czech lagers trending, these “side-pull” faucets are popping up at more and more breweries and taprooms around the country, be it at Marshall Brewing Co in Tulsa, Barriehaus Brewing in Tampa, or Human Robot Brewery in Philadelphia. While this trend for foam-friendly beer may not change American preferences wholesale, or quickly, it’s at least starting the conversation. It’s not just about the question of whether foam is good or bad, but how Americans think of beer and the value of its component parts. Here’s how.