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This New Two-Pull Beer Can Pours the Perfect Amount of Foam

05.17.23 | By
This New Two-Pull Beer Can Pours the Perfect Amount of Foam

Unless you’re a beer connoisseur, you might not think too much about how the amount of foam on your beer can affect its taste. Japanese design studio nendo has reimagined the beer can – called foam-can – in order to achieve the perfect liquid to foam ratio. With the new, dual pull tab top, the liquid comes out of one tab and the foam out of the other to achieve the magic pour. When a beer has the perfect amount of foam, it keeps the flavor, aroma, and carbonation from coming into contact with air and escaping.

black and white sketch of cartoon pouring beer into glasses

From nendo: “There are two main principles of bubbles that form from canned beer, besides the factor derived from its raw materials: the sudden drop in pressure inside the can when it is opened and the friction that occurs between the can and the liquid when pouring. Through our study, it has been found that if the pull tab doesn’t fully open the can, the pressure is concentrated in the narrow opening. At the same time, when pouring, the area of the beer in contact with the lid increases, which facilitates the formation of bubbles.”

angled down view of chrome beer can with two pull tabs

down view of unopened chrome beer can with two pull tabs

down view of opened chrome beer can with two pull tabs

After much research, it was determined that two pull tabs are necessary at slightly different angles and positions. If the can is opened by the first tab, the lid only opens a little to make more foam. After pouring a glass half full with foam, you’re to stop, and wait for the bubbles to settle. Pop the second tab next, which widens the opening, and slowly pour the rest under the foam. The result is a 7:3 liquid to foam ratio, i.e. the golden ratio of beer.

down view of opened chrome beer can with two pull tabs

down view of opened chrome beer can with two pull tabs

down view of four chrome beer cans with two pull tabs

closeup angled down view of opened chrome beer can with two pull tabs

chrome beer can held in hand pouring beer into glass

chrome beer can held in hand pouring beer into glass

chrome beer can sitting next to glass filled with beer

four glass with two cans of beer pouring into them

series of special been cans laying on their side

one chrome beer can lying angled on its side by one beer can standing

angled down view of multiple chrome beer cans

Collaboration by Shun Naruse and Maya Watanabe.
Photography by Masahiro Ohgami.
Video by Yumika Kanechika.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.