TEK - How to de-foam/fizz a beer

[Richi]

I had this idea one peculiar morning to share what may or may not be a synergy of common knowledge and natural intuition. Sometimes something goes wrong and one instinctivly knows what to do to improve a situation. Obvious? Maybe to some. Here it is anyway...

How to de-foam/fizz a beer




This is an image of an un-opened average clear-bottle beer.




This is an image of the same bottle of beer right after it was tilted back aggressively and sipped. It has foamed up and is seeping out of the neck of the bottle, onto whatever floor the thirsty yet unfortunate individual is standing on.




This is an image of the same bottle of beer being tilted at an angle. The foam has spread out as the available surface area was increased. This is best done with one's mouth on the opening of the bottle to prevent any beer from spilling out.



This is the final image of the beer once it is set upright. The foam has subsided.


Now applying my moderate knowledge in chemistry, I believe this works because the carbon dioxide in the beer is allowed to escape at a faster rate when the bottle is tilted. Initially, adding a large amount of kinetic energy to the bottle while it is near capacity causes molecules of dissolved carbon dioxide to combine together to form bubbles, which rise and create foam. This foam displaces the air in the neck of the bottle and rises up and outwards, causing the beer to spill. (fig. 2) Afterwards, the neck of the bottle is full of foam and it gradually subsides. Tilting the bottle at this point (fig. 3) allows the foam to subside quicker, and the carbon dioxide to escape.

Et violà.

Note: Pouring the beer into a mug or other vessel would avoid this issue completely.

Reputation Comments on this post:

i like that, thanks :)