Some call it froth, some call it foam many call it ‘the head’, but whatever you call it, which is best. {‘m of course talking about the tight mass of bubbles at the top of your glass of beer. I call it ‘the head’ and always have done. Foam and froth make me think more about coffee than alcohol.

Although it is right to invoke personal choice, the choice of beer often dictates the type ‘head’ your beer has. It also depends on your location. Northern England seems to prefer their ales with a head measuring about 15mm whereas Southern areas, I am told the head doesn’t usually get larger than about 5mm. Coming back to beer types, Lager drinkers seem to prefer their drink to have a smaller head than an ale drinker. Of course, cider tends not to have a head at all. Some beers/ales have a head that takes a long time to settle. I thinking here of draught Guinness, that depending on how long the barrel has been ‘on’ can take anything from 2 to 5 minutes before it is acceptable to drink.

Then you have bottled beers. Their head is often quite loose or slack and disappears quite quickly. Once again, some of the more stronger types do not have a head.

Me (being a Yorkshireman) tend to prefer an ale head of around 15mm and a lager head of about 5mm. But saying that, I’ll usually drink however it is served.

At the end of the day, it is down to the skill of the bartender to produce the head that you prefer.