Proper service puts a head on beer sales.

Any non-aficionado who's ever watched the judging of a beer competition might think that the judges have gone off the deep end. Schooled in the unique profile of the beer they're judging (there are currently about 20 categories and literally hundreds of subcategories), they hold small sample glasses to the light, examine the head, stick their nose into the glass and inhale deeply, and only then take a mouthful of beer.

Pausing thoughtfully after swallowing, they make a few notes, then begin to score the beer. Often heated discussions occur as judges attempt to arrive at beers that best represent a specific brewing style. The judging is always done in a smoke-free atmosphere, and judges have French bread or something similar at hand to cleanse their palates between beers.

One could understand such behavior if they were tasting wine, or coffee, or truffles, but BEER? Yes, beer.

Beer is a food--by definition an organic product--which can present the same flavor nuances and problems as you might encounter with other food products. If you wouldn't serve stale bread or a cold hamburger, why you would consider serving beer at less than optimum freshness or flavor?

Beer should be fun, right? Right! The American tradition of a chilled lager as an accompaniment to a ballgame or a family outing is one that should be venerated. But beer is also developing a growing following in this country as an accompaniment to fine food. And key to that enjoyment for your guest is the proper service of the beer.

The Europeans have long had an appreciation for proper beer service. For example, the attitude and veneration with which the Belgians approach beer is similar to that of the French regarding wine. There are literally hundreds of small breweries in Belgium (brewers such as Celis and New Belgium in the United States are brewing excellent examples of some Belgian styles). The ingredients can include such departures from malt, hops, and yeast as coriander and orange peel and the wild yeasts, bacteria, and age that would be considered faults in lesser beers. These are beers of incredible aromas and complexity of taste.

Go into many restaurants in Belgium and order a meal, and you'll be presented with a wide choice of beers to match the flavor profile of the food. And the beer will be brought to you in a glass that will enhance the flavor profile and aroma of that particular beer style.

The hoteliers and restaurateurs who are most successful in their service of super-premium imports and microbrews are the ones that assist their customers with matching beer to food. And distributors can often provide access to the proper serving glasses that make a $6 or $7 beer seem worth the money.

Equally important is serving the beer at the proper temperature. Americans have become imbued with the notion of the ice-cold premium American lager, such as Budweiser, as an accompaniment to a sporting event or a reward at the end of a round of golf. But even that product, which has had its aroma and flavor profile lightened to appeal to a broad spectrum of tastes, has complexities and characteristics that can be reduced to the equivalent of spring water by overchilling. While cold temperatures, just above freezing are the norm for storage, Anheuser-Busch Assistant Brewmaster Paul Mancuso suggests serving at a temperature that reveals more of the flavor and aroma profile of the product.

One of my pet peeves is ordering a fine ale such as Bass Pale Ale or New Belgium's Fat Tire and receiving the beverage ice-cold in a frosted pilsner glass. Bartenders who appreciate my tips quickly learn to serve in an unchilled ale glass. I'm not just being persnickety. A lager or ale will release its maximum flavor and aroma profile at temperatures at or close to `cellar' temperature (40-45 degrees F). Too warm and it loses its crispness. Too cold, and you might as well be drinking water.

Try this experiment: Take a frosted glass or mug and fill it halfway with a

fine draft pale or brown ale. Swirl the glass and sniff for aroma. Taste the beer. Now set it aside for 20 minutes or so, until it warms up slightly. Nose and taste it again. You'll appreciate all the effort that the brewmaster put into making a great product.

Mancuso has another reason for avoiding chilled glasses. Brewmasters recommend that beer be served in a "beer-clean" vessel--freshly rinsed and free of impurities. Frosted glasses can release ice crystals and impurities into the beer.

Beer-clean glasses facilitate the release of the beer's natural carbonation and allow head formation and retention, which has the additional effect of fully releasing the beer's aroma/flavor profile. A-B recommends a three-sink cleaning system, with cleansing, rinsing, and sanitizing sinks. And if you allow smoking in your bar, don't take clean glasses and hang them in overhead racks.

Mancuso points out an inherent risk in opening up the flavor/ aroma profile: While he and his fellow Anheuser-Busch brewmasters strive for consistency in the quality of their product--even to the point of sending out fresh batches of their proprietary yeast strain from headquarters in St. Louis on a weekly basis and conducting blind tastings of samples from all breweries at each facility regularly--breweries with less far-reaching resources (read microbreweries) are more likely to have the occasional flaw slip out.

This, of course, will also be magnified at warmer temperatures. Not that Mancuso is down on the microbrews: "The microbrew phenomenon has been very healthy," he said. "It has increased overall awareness of fine beer. It parallels what we are doing in educating the consumer about quality."

Some other points of beer service worthy of consideration include:

Freshness--Anheuser-Busch has made a great campaign out of its "born-on dating." This made public knowledge the dating code that your distributor knew all along. And it also made a point. Beer goes stale. Oxygen and light are its great enemies. Oxygen will give beer a cardboard-like taste. "Light-struck" beer (a particular problem with beer shipped in green and clear bottles) will have a "skunky" aroma.

Paying close attention to the temperature at which your beer is stored (between 40 and 70 degrees F for package beer and NEVER below freezing for any beer), keeping bottled goods in the dark, and rotating all of your stock are key to serving beer at peak flavor and aroma.

Sanitation--In addition to serving in beer-clean glasses, you should religiously follow your distributor's instructions on sanitation for beer lines and dispensers. Beer can literally become "infected" with wild yeasts and bacteria, which can render an entire keg undrinkable in a few hours.

The Art of the Pour--For packaged goods, hold the lip of the can or bottle over the edge of the glass and quickly raise it to a high angle, lowering the glass as it fills. This will cause the beer to pour down the center of the glass and release its carbonation. Remember: If your guests are full of carbon dioxide, they'll buy less beer.

With a beer tap, grab the tap at its base, so it immediately goes on fully. Tilt the glass at an angle to the tap (Don't touch the tap!) gradually straightening it and allowing about half an inch of head space.

By paying careful attention to the way in which you store, serve, and present your beers, you'll increase your guests' enjoyment of the product--and beer sales.