Doing research that seems to have no benefit, or writing a blog post about such research.
Or a third possibility, which you may soon be guilty of dear reader – reading such a blog post 🙂
Scientists in France say they’ve have determined that a half-pint of beer may contain up to two million bubbles. (If college kids knew they could someday work on projects like this, there might be a lot more science majors).
OK, to make this post a little legitimate, here’s some of the science:
Brewers create lagers through a cool fermentation process. This converts the sugars in malted grains into alcohol and carbon dioxide, but that doesn’t account for all of the bubbles. During the packaging process, distributors can add in more carbonation which gives beer extra fizziness. This is also why bottles and cans make a hissing sound when you open them and then form micrometer-wide bubbles during pouring.
This fizzy show also plays an important role during the drinker’s sensory experience. Just like sparkling wine, bubbles carry both flavor and scent components to the drinker, sometimes tickling their nose.
So how did the scientists measure the number of bubbles?
They started by measuring the amount of carbon dioxide which dissolves into a commercial lager just after pouring it into a tilted glass. Using this number and a standard tasting temperature of 42 degrees Fahrenheit, the team calculated that the dissolving gas would combine to form streams of bubbles wherever there are crevices and cavities in a glass. These tiny bubbles are no more than 1.4 micrometers wide.
The researchers then used a high-speed camera to reveal that the bubbles grew in size as they floated to the surface. Those bubbles capture and transport even more gas to the air right above the beer’s foamy head. As the gas decreases in the beer, the bubbling eventually comes to a halt.
Before the beer goes flat however, the study found there were anywhere from 200,000 to 2,000,000 bubbles in a half-pint of lager. (That seems like a pretty wide-range.)
The researchers also discovered defects in the glass help to create more bubbles in beer than they do in champagne. (Does this mean that if you like bubbly beer, you should ask the bartender to serve it is glass that has lots of defects?)
I’ll admit that most of the above is simply copy and pasted from the brief story I read at Study Finds. I have no idea what any of it means, and for better or worse, I really didn’t care about how many bubbles are in a pint of beer.
What I do care about is keeping my blogging streak alive, so mission accomplished.
I wish I could celebrate with a cold one…
Guilty of reading and I don’t even drink beer. Congratulations on your streaks lifespan.
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my apologies for putting you through that 🙂
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I can just visualise my character breathing deeply and enjoying those bubble tickling his nose. I like it so much, that I think Ben may be doing this soon.
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I guess my work here is done… 🙂
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I have spent my evening experimenting with variations in the standard tasting temperature of 42 degrees to see if that can affect the gas in the glass or in the room. So far, I have discovered that neither 43 degrees or 41 degrees makes one bit of difference although it was weird drinking beer out of a glass.
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I appreciate your commitment to the scientific method. Maybe the next thing to do is try different beers…
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Why?
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great question… 🙂
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Not sure about any of this, but I think there is somewhat of a pleasant sensation with the sound when you first open one of these. Something I am curious about for a future beer post is what percentage of people drink beer from a bottle, can, glass, or all of the above. I’m not sure I can give a valid reason, but I never drink beer from a glass unless it is served that way.
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Since I like draft beer, especially Guinness, I don’t mind a glass. But at home, I prefer cans…
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Good information and another successful post by the “Iron Man of Blogging”, but the only question left for me is, were you drinking a beer when you wrote this? If not, it seems like a missed opportunity for some hands-on research.
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I wish I was, but I am off of alcohol for a few months while I am still recovering and on several medications. It’s quite annoying!
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Sorry to hear that. Hopefully the time will pass quickly.
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on the good side, it’s saving me some money 🙂
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i have literally blogged about bubble research as well – focusing more on champagne -see below.
https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/?s=bubbles
great minds……
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that study must have been in the back of my mind, since I noticed that I had commented on that post of yours. It looks like it was the same guy who did both research studies – what a job!
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This guy has it made!
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👍
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Well. Now that I know all this important information, I will need a new compartment in my brain to file it under. Is beer bubble a good category?
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a better category might be “more useless information”… 🙂
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That compartment is full. I am getting error messages 🙂
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🙂 thanks for the laugh…
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Cheers to that! And now I can’t get “Tiny Bubbles” by Don Ho out of my head…
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cheers indeed. I was not familiar with that song, just listened to it. thanks for the suggestion…
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I think this research proves one thing – that some scientists have too much spare time, and clearly have no idea of the real purpose of beer. Just drink it!
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but at least this guy is pursuing an enjoyable line of research…
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He is, but I wonder how much we can trust his findings if he tests the product…
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the reviewers were probably drinking while they read it…
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This would make a good topic of conversation in a bar. Maybe you could even win a bar bet. But I do find it interesting that defects in a beer glass produces bubbles. Now I’m wondering if glasses made for bars are intentionally designed to have lots of defects.
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maybe that gives an incentive to bar owners to buy glasses at a discount because they are flawed in some way…
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Could be. Or maybe they rub down the insides of new glasses, with sandpaper.
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sounds kind of hipster…
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Very interesting! The bubbles are my favorite part!
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I like how the bubbles make me funnier and more interesting… 🙂
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They seem to do that to me too??!!
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Great info on beer bubbles, and the streak goes on!
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a two for oner… 🙂
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Readijg this post is a few minutes of my life that I will never get back! LOL! But at least it was more interesting than a certain Napoleon movie that I won’t mention! 90 minutes of my life gone forever with tbat movie. 😄
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but look at all the times you’ve been able to bring Napoleon into your conversation; that alone is priceless… 🙂
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Oooh….! 😶🤚
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YES! a head smack!
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Now your day is off to a great start, isn’t it! 🙄
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I can take a long nap now…
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Never a flat day here with Professor Borden! Better than watching the Discovery channel . . . and the streak continues.
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that doesn’t say much about the Discovery Channel 🙂
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Creating a funny wee post from research with no benefit read by folks on another continent…More than the sum of its parts my good man!
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I guess I never knew how wide my influence was; or how good I am at annoying people around the globe…
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Ha ha, global fanbase mate
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🙂
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Oh dear..but in the interest of stats and continuation, I suppose had to be done…Cheers https://youtu.be/CNPIX_TMQKE
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yes, it had to be done. and thanks for the bubbles video; strange that it is associated with a football team…
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Not for us Brits.. 😂 x
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🙂
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