Quite wrong!
Also wrong, although not as badly and some historical truth.
in the first place, it is of course down to personal preference and what you are used to. In the second place, it is also down to the beer and how the brewer intended it to be served. I recollect that the much-missed Gales (I don't count the poor Chiswick copy) brought in a brewer from somewhere Oop North who introduced a beer designed to be pulled through a tight sparkler, which at least didn't taste any the worse for the experience. This was certainly not true of their older recipes which tasted much better without - straight from the barrel ideally.
Personally I tend to prefer beer that is not under a thick layer of foam. Sparklers might well give a creamier feel and reduce suspended CO2 but they knock out flavours also.
And as for counting the aforementioned froth as part of the pint...
On leaving the bar, I felt a strong blow to the back of my head. Turning round, I discovered it was the pavement
Yes, this is the nub of the matter! Beer drinkers have been trained, through advertising like "Whitbread Big Head Trophy Bitter" to believe that beer with very little head on it must have something wrong - it doesn't taste right without a head, does it? The use of swan necks and sparklers is a relatively recent introduction, but it's now almost ubiquitous in pubs in the south. I like my southern beers served the old style - examples that spring to mind are the Bricklayers Arms in Luton, the Bell at Aldworth and the Dove at Hammersmith.
Come On You Hatters!
"At that moment I would have given a kingdom, not for champagne or hock and soda, or hot coffee but for a glass of beer" Marquess Curzon of Kedlestone, Viceroy of India.
I prefer it with a sparkler or at least.pulled through a hand pump.Ihave only been to a few Camra fests in the last 5 years are most of it is just dropped from the cask which I don't think does it justice.The Hope Carshalton seems to have mastered this method of serve at their fests and my local Ealing Camra fest is good but they are the exception rather than the norm.
I guess that's because you don't like London Pride, but trust me: in the Dove at Hammersmith it was superb.
I think what happens is some of the hop flavour is driven into the head, where it is not so detectable by the taste buds because the air bubbles confuse matters. There's probably a better scientific explanation, but I think what's happening is that you're accustomed to the mouth feel of the frothed up head, and your brain automatically thinks there's something wrong when you drink a beer without one.
You should visit the Halfway House at (or outside) Brenchley in Kent. Nothing dead about the beers there!
Come On You Hatters!
I used to like Pride under the old brewer/recipe, but I also find its ubiquity disheartening.
I don't like a huge head by any means, but I can't imagine my super Five Points Railway Porter yesterday without it.
I think you're probably right about stillage. My last experience of the stuff was at The Bree Louise but, landlady aside, I had no complaints at the otherwise excellent https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22805/; her departure would get the score up markedly.