Beer is merely poured, yes? Think again. From hand pumps in British pubs to wet foam in Czech cafes, beer is poured a variety of ways throughout the world and in various glassware. It’s a skill that takes dedication and passion.
Master Cicerone Neil Witte aims to showcase various pouring styles with events that take place usually in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. Called Ritual Pour, Witte focuses on one style of beer done to perfection multiple ways.
Witte started Ritual Pour three years ago when JP Pfafflin, brewer at the famous Dovetail Brewery in Chicago, showed Witte Japanese pouring styles for beer.
“I had already been deep into Czech-style pouring with LUKR faucets, which often feature wet, creamy foam, and a lot of the Japanese pours were using great foam in ways that were new to me,” said Witte. “No one was really featuring pours like this in any way outside of a few people, so I thought it would be a fun thing to do as a pop-up.”
Witte, who specializes in draft management, did lots of research into pours and acquiring the equipment needed to best perform these styles of pours. He uses a roto-ball tap called a Debitap with a long, narrow spout and a flow control valve to control the beer.
“I use this faucet because the ball valve function along with the long narrow spout gives allows me to pour foam in a controlled manner, unlike a traditional rear-seated faucet,” said Witte. “The flow control allows me to pour slowly, if I want to minimize gas breakout, or faster, if I want more agitation and foam creation.”
His first ever pouring event was at his home in early 2025 and then he brought them out into the wider world for people to enjoy.
If attending a Ritual Pour event, Witte pours one style of beer seven different ways. The most popular pour (and Witte’s favorite) is the “sharp pour,” a style he learned while watching YouTube videos of Mr. Shigatomi from the Shigatomi Beer Stand in Hiroshima. What is the Japanese sharp pour?
“It starts with roughly 2/3 (ideally 7/10) of beer. Then I layer foam on top, letting the fluffier foam run over the edge of the glass,” said Witte. “What remains is a very wet, sweet, creamy, drinkable foam layered on top of fully carbonated beer, with all of it’s bitterness and prickly mouthfeel intact. It’s a great contrast in flavors and mouthfeel in one glass.”
The seven styles of our he does are, besides the sharp pour: poured once, poured twice, poured three times (similar to a slow pour where the foam is stiff), the mild pour (knocking a lot of the carbonation out leaving a more mild flavored beer), all foam (also known as the milk or “Mliko” pour due to its Czech roots), and no foam at all, which Witte remarked that many brewers have expressed their displeasure in how the lack of foam ruins the beer’s flavor. Beer foam is concentrated flavor and aroma so it adds to the entire drinking experience.
Witte’s beer of choice is usually a pale lager for what Witte called “nice, snappy bitterness” but he’s used an American brown ale and a German style black lager called a schwarzbier, which he said gave him “great results” but there’s no wrong beer style for such events.
Witte has currently hosted approximately eight events at his home in Kansas CIty and another eight at various local bars and breweries.
“I use 10 oz glassware, which gives about a 7 ½ – 8 oz serving. Most places charge around $6 a glass but it can vary,” said Witte. “What you get is a beer poured with intention, and the ability to choose the flavor profile of the beer that goes into the glass. The idea is that you get to try several, since they’re small pours, so you can taste the range of flavors you can get from a single beer.”
What does Witte hope people take away from attending a Ritual Pour event?
“I want people to see how pouring with intention can affect beer’s flavor,” remarked Witte. “I also want them to see something new with beer that they may not have seen before, something that is not only new but also focused on quality and the customer experience.”
So next time you are at a brewery or bar, pay attention to how your beer is poured. It makes a world of difference. And remember to enjoy beers responsibly with people you care about. Cheers!
The way the beer is poured directly affects the flavor and mouthfeel of the beer. It controls the carbonation level of the beer in the glass, as well as the amount and type of foam that goes on top. The way you get beer poured at most bars, restaurants, and breweries is pretty much the same from place to place. If done correctly, it gives you a good tasting beer. But if it’s not, it can really take away from the drinking experience.