Do bubbles in Guinness go down?

We are used to seeing bubbles float up in a glass of beer, but bubbles in Guinness appear to break the rules. Do the bubbles really sink in Guinness, or is it just an illusion? If the bubbles go down, where do they go?  Why do they all end up at the head? Here we show you some video proof  that the bubbles in Guinness do actually go down the inside of the glass just after the beer is poured.  To learn more, click on to one of the bubbles opposite, or use one of the links below. Why do the bubbles go down? Does it only happen in Guinness? Why is this effect important? About the filming About the authors Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Link to full paper explaining physics of waves in Guinness (pdf) The Australian connection (20/3/04) Movie shot at Stanford and in a pub in Palo Alto, CA (1.9 Mb) St. Patrick's day Channel 7 ABC news broadcast: interview with Zare (30Mb, 17/3/04) Stanford University mirror of this site (CA, USA)