How can you tell a clean from a less-clean glass?
You might also have seen a string of bubbles rising off of a particular point in a glass: this is called “nucleation.” Most of the time, it’s not intentional and means that a speck of something is left over in the glass. However, some breweries will have a little pattern etched into the bottom of their glass to create this bubbly effect. In that circ*mstance, bubbles are fine. But in most glasses, you want to see nothing but clear, or hazy, beer. Rinsing the glass helps ensure that any stubborn dust etc., still left after cleaning, gets lifted away.
Chasing that perfect pour
Also, if a glass is fresh out of the dishwasher, rinsinghelps cool it down. This results in the best temperature for the beer, as well as a more successful pour. A warm glass will cause more foaming than a cooler glass. And we’re not talking about a nice little head of foam. We’re talking about a beer filling up with 2/3 foam, which is too mucheven by Belgian standards (FYI Belgians love a good head of foam, which they call “mousse”).
Lastly, rinsing the glass acts as a sort of lubricant. That extremely thin layer of water reduces the friction between beer and glass. Less friction means less foam—and less chance of a foam over—resulting in less spilled beerand a better looking beer for you!
