When pouring a fizzy drink why tilt the glass?

Question

Ok stupid question but here goes - when pouring a fizzy drink (beer, coke, whatever) does it help to tilt the glass sideways.

If you pour the drink with glass standing up the bubbles are much more intense, where as if you tilt the glass the bubbles are much less.

Why is this? I thought it was surface area of the liquid being greater but I think this is rubbish... any thoughts?

Answer 1

I belive it all to do with surface area the more the area the big the area the bubble(the bubble arn't bunched uptogather so don't get to jiggy with it) can get so creating less of a 'head'

Answer 2

And a stupid answer too i guess. when a glass is tilted, the idea is that the liquid from the bottle glides down the wall of the glass to the bottom of the glass. this way force is not exerted to at once make a big bubbly fiz to top out over the glass if you had put it in with force at once. you will notice it rises gradually, not at once. this way you can control the flow and titlt the bottle away from giving a free gradual flow. Also the lake that is formed at the top of the glass is wider in size than it would have been if the glass were to stand vertical.

Answer 3

When you tilt the glass and pour, the fizzy drink will have lesser kinetic energy as it moves a smaller distance from the bottle/can to the cup. This results in lesser molecules(or whatever the exact name is...) 'knocking' against each other and thus reducing the amount of bubbles.

Answer 4

There are several factors at play when you pour a soda.

When you pour down the side of the glass, then the soda doesn't decelerate as quickly. Deceleration causes agitation, which causes the carbon dioxide that's dissolved in the soda to be released, which makes foam. So when you decelerate the soda more smoothly, it doesn't foam as much.

On the flipside is beer. Beer is carbonated, and it foams, but when you agitate it it allows the beer to breathe and release flavor. So you want it to foam a bit.

Pour beer down the side for the first quarter of the glass, then tip it upright and smoothly pour (without the chugalug thing) straight down the center.

Pour soda down the side always.

Answer 5

It gives the smallest distance to the side of the glass so it falls softer than it would from the top of a vertical glass thus stopping it from foaming over.

Answer 6

pouring the drink onto the side of the glass instead of straight onto itself causes less froth by reducing the amount of agitation in the drink which causes it to froth up.
that is why people vigourously shake bottles of champagne after winning a race or something so they can spray everyone with it.

Answer 7

It's just how much you agitate the liquid that matters - same as stirring it up.
Tilting means that the liquid does not have as far to fall before hitting glass, and so is less agitated.

Answer 8

it hits the glass at more of a slant so less coke bounces straight back, so it runs into the glass better, thats why, causes less impact on the glass

Answer 9

its true if you tilt the glass theres less fizz dont know how it works!

Answer 10

some people say that the fizz will stay in the drink that way and will not go flat easily.