How many bubbles are in a glass of beer? Scientists have revealed the answer

Have you ever wondered just how many bubbles are in a glass of beer? Well wonder no more, because scientists have discovered the answer, and we’re revealing all.

Beer is one of world’s most popular drinks – but between enjoying a cool, refreshing sip of lager on a hot summer’s day, have you ever paused to consider just how many bubbles are in a glass of beer? It must be a lot, right?

Well, yes, the answer is basically: loads.

First, the science. When a beer is poured into a glass, little bubbles make themselves known and rise to the top of the beer, forming its characteristic foamy head.

Lagers specifically are produced through a fermentation process that turns the sugars in malted grains into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The resulting carbonation – which can also be enhanced during commercial packaging – is part of what gives beer its pleasing sensory experience, from flavour and scent compounds to even lightly tickling the consumer’s nose.

It had previously been determined that a flute of champagne contained some one million bubbles, but what about beer?

Researchers – who reported their findings in ACS Omega – estimated that between 200,000 and nearly 2 million bubbles are present in a “gently poured lager”.

The team conducted their research by first pouring a commercially available beer into a tilted glass.

From this, researchers – who reported their findings in ACS Omega – were able to estimate that between 200,000 and nearly 2 million bubbles are present in a “gently poured lager”.

You can read the findings in full – and find out exactly how researchers conducted their experiment – in the study, here. From this, they observed that gas would aggregate spontaneously as streams of bubbles when they hit crevices or imperfections inthe glass.

H/T: ACS Omega

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