Brewmaster reveals skill for perfect pour

COLUMBUS -- Richard Stueven has had a head for brewing beer since his mom gave him a brew-making kit for Christmas more than a decade ago.

The brewmaster at Gottberg Brew Pub brewed his owned concoctions for several years before giving up his computer job at Sun Microsystems in Silicon Valley to pursue his true calling.

He’ll begin pouring his latest creation, Irish Stout 1916, to mark St. Patrick’s Day at the pub in the Gottberg building on 13th Street starting today. The very dark, roasty and chocolate-flavored beer evokes the popular dry stout Guinness brewed in Dublin, Ireland.

Stueven, a descendant of German stock (the “masters” of beer making), also strives to equal the distinctive flavor and creamy head of Guinness with his brew commemorating the start of the 1916 Irish Revolution.

“Unfortunately, the revolution didn’t succeed,’’ smiled Stueven.

The end result of the brewmaster’s new creation is the “perfect pour,” a result of an intricately balanced mix of gas and pressure that make up the beer drafting system and the pouring techniques of well-practiced hands.

Before Stueven’s beer winds up on the table in front of a customer, the brewmaster follows a few steps to achieve the perfect pint.

The perfect pint is served using the “two-part” pour:

• Select a clean, dry glass -- hold the glass at 45 degrees under the draft spout.

• Hold the glass at a 45-degree angle about one inch below the beer faucet. Place a hand low on the tap, near the faucet, and quickly snap the handle toward you with one motion, until it stops and the faucet is open and pouring beer.

• As the glass fills, straighten the glass to an upright position, and close the faucet by snapping back to the closed position.

• Stand the glass on the counter and allow the gas to surge through the beer.

• Head on a beer brings out the flavor and aroma. Stueven suggests a well-poured beer should have a 1/2-inch (nickel width) to a 3/4-inch (quarter width) head that rises just to the top of the glass.

As the beer is consumed, a lacing of foam should collect on the side of the glass indicating each swallow. This is the sign of a good beer, a clean glass and is said to bring good luck.

Irish Stout 1916 has an “assertive flavor,’’ Stueven said. However, the beer remains very drinkable and smooth with an alcohol content that is closer to 4 percent than 5 percent, he said.

St. Patrick’s Day is bursting with folklore, from the shamrock to the leprechaun, from eating corn beef and cabbage to pinching those who are not wearing green.

But how about green beer?

Not at Gottberg’s and not on Stueven’s watch.

“It’s just not natural,’’ joked Stueven. “Green beer is for people who want to pretend they’re beer drinkers.”