Nottingham researchers have paved the way to creating bubble patterns in drinks and manipulating the amount of ‘head’ on beer to create the perfect pint.
Research by Nottingham Trent University has shown that the pattern of bubbles inside glasses can be manipulated by coating the surface with a hydrophobic, or waterproof, layer.
The glass attracts air rather than water, causing bigger bubbles to form in the glass and less head on top.
It could allow manufacturers to create bubble patterns to form when a liquid is poured in the glass leading to the possibility of your favourite beer at the pub having its logo inside the glass.
There are more practical purposes for this ‘foam control’ which could be used to control the size of head in the beer and to prevent ‘gushing’ in which the beer overflows out of the glass which can lead to waste and longer waiting times at the bar.
There are also possible applications outside of the beer industry with scientists believing it could also be used to control bubbles in pipes and car engines.
Picture: A glass half-coated with the layer in action and a digram showing the theory
One of the researchers, Dr Chris Hamlett, a chemistry lecturer in Nottingham Trent University’s School of Science and Technology, said: “The use of beer was to illustrate the control of foam that can be gained by altering the wettabilitiy of the glassware in which it is generated – but there are a range of potential applications.
“The problem with foam generation during high throughput bottling of juice is that when the juice is injected into the bottle, the foam generated takes up a lot of space. As this space is needed for more juice it can really slow down production while waiting for the foam to dissipate.
“And with regards to paper recycling, the chemicals used to remove the ink from the paper can stabilise air bubbles during the mixing of the paper pulp. These stabilised air bubbles – or foam – need to be removed or controlled in order for a consistent grade of recycled paper to be manufactured.”
