One of the things that you might notice when you are sitting around different breweries having a few beers, is that a lot of breweries use glasses of all shapes and sizes. Have you ever wondered when you and a friend order two beers of varying styles why they come in different glassware? Why doesn’t a brewery just have one standard size glass for all their beer?
Today, I will cover why drinking beer from a glass is important, what different types of glasses there are out there, and what beers are best served out of those glasses and why.
I have a nice can/bottle of beer sitting in my fridge, why should I dirty a glass just to drink the beer? The answer to this is simple, pouring your beer into a glass helps release the carbonation more naturally, which in turn will lead to you feeling less bloated and full after drinking a beer. When you drink out of a can or bottle, there is a very small area for the gas in your beer to release naturally, and instead all the gas will end up in your stomach instead of dissipating as you drink your beer. It also helps to release the aromas and nuances in your different styles of beer, thus making them more easily identifiable. Therefore, I always recommend drinking your beer from a glass.
Now before we get into the different styles of glasses that you will see at a brewery and why they are used. The most important step of drinking a beer is making sure that your beer glass, no matter the style, is beer clean. What this means is that there is no film, residue, lipstick, or any other sort of foreign substances in your glass that the carbon dioxide in your beer could cling to thus affecting the quality of your beer. A beer clean glass is defined as “A glass that allows for formation of a proper foam head, allows for lacing during consumption, and never shows patches of bubbles stuck to the side of the glass in liquid beer”. This is one of the most important jobs a brewery can do. If they don’t care enough about their beer to serve you in a beer clean glass, why should you care about their beer?
For each kind of glass I will describe in this post, I will post a picture of the glass in order that they are described at the end of the post.
1. American Pint- This is the most common type of glass that you will see at bars/breweries across the United States, also referred to as a shaker pint. As the name pint suggests, it holds 16 fluid ounces or one pint of beer. It is somewhat of an all purpose glass, it can be described as a jack of all trades but a master of none glass. There are a few styles that I would recommend to not pour into this glass, but for the most part, 95% of beer can be poured into this glass.
2. Nonic/Imperial Pint- These can be either 16 (2a) or 20 (2b) ounce glasses. Its inverted cone shape with a widening near the edge allows for the formation of creamy foam on a beer. But for beers that don’t form a creamy foam head, it can kill the carbonation in your beer faster than it should. Due to its capacity and its shape it is ideal for beers that do not drink cold or carbonated. The 16 ounce variety is best used for British Ales, Porters, and Stouts. In addition to the aforementioned styles, the 20 ounce version is also a great vessel for India Pale Ales and Double/Imperial IPAs.
3. Glass Jars/Mugs- These are usually larger capacity glasses that are sturdy and made of thick glass, they can be smooth or dimpled with a handle that prevents your hand from warming up your beer. They are designed to be able to collide against each other at a time of toasting without breaking the glass. The most common style is the one liter size and is commonly seen at beer festivals like Oktoberfest in Munich. They are used to drink Fest Biers, Marzens, British Ales, Stouts, and Scottish Ales.
4. Pilsner Glass- These are tall slender glasses that are typically smaller than a pint, they are most commonly 12 ounces, and most of the time are in the shape of a trumpet. They function to capture the effervescence and golden colors of a Pilsner. The shape favors crystalline beers and allows for foam retention to maintain the flavor and aroma of the hops. These glasses are commonly used for light beers like American Lagers, Bocks, Blonde Ales, and obviously Pilsners.
5. Stange- This is a long, cylindrical, narrow German glass that well preserves the adhesion and persistence of foam on your beer. It is ideal for serving more delicate beers as it amplifies the nuances and aroma of the hops in the beer. It is ideal for drinking Rye Beer, Lambics, Goses, and Bocks.
6. Weizen Glass- This glass is narrow at the bottom and gets slightly bigger as you reach the top of the glass, this allows for the control of the foam that you get off of your beer. Due to its elongated shape it captures aromas very well and it creates a very pleasant visual effect of the beer. It is best for drinking wheat beers like Hefeweizen, Dunkelweizen, and American Wheat Ales.
7. Flute- Looks very similar to a Champagne glass, and designed to perform the same job. They allow for active carbonation, an intense aroma, and a visually attractive presentation. These glasses are generally tall, with long thin stems, and thin glass walls. The stem allows you to enjoy the beverage without your hands coming into contact with the glass and stops it from heating up your beer. It is used for fruity and carbonated beers, Biere Brut, Vienna Lager, Lambics, Flanders Red Ales, Saisons and Pilsners.
8. Tulip- The curved shape of a tulip glass allows for the capturing of the aromatic qualities of your beer, and its tight mouth allows for the formation of a thick layer of foam in your glass. It is best used for beers with intense, hoppy flavors or beers with higher alcohol content. It is suitable glassware for Saisons, Belgian Pale Ale, Belgian Strong Ales, and Double/Imperial Stouts.
9. Snifter- With its rounded bottom surface it is designed to increase heat transfer from your hand to the glass. The upper part of the glass narrows towards the top to enhance the flavors and aromas of your beer. It is meant to be used for beers with a substantial body aka higher alcohol content beers. It is best used for Belgian Beers, Imperial Stouts, Double IPAs, Barleywines, Wheat or Fruit Beers, and Biere de Garde.
10. Chalice- This is a large, thick, robust base glass. It creates a thick, dense, attractive foam that retains the aromas on the surface while also allowing for proper oxygenation of the beer. Some have nuclei in the bottom of the glass that helps retain carbonation and the formation of foam. The wide mouth on the glass allows drinkers to take deeper sips of their beverage. Great for serving Trappist, Belgian, Abbey Ales, Belgian IPA, Dubbel, Tripel, and Berliner Weisse styles of beer. I do not own a true Chalice, so no picture is included.
These are a little less common in breweries in the United States, but there is an outside chance you may see them from time to time on your travels across the world. I will not be including pictures of these glasses at the end of the post. I don’t own any examples of these types of glasses.
11. Oversized Wine Glass- Serves the same purposes as a Chalice, but just bigger. These are ideal for serving most Belgian styles of beer, and American Black Ales.
12. Hoegaarden glass- Big, bulky,and rock-solid hexagonal shaped glass where the upper part is wider and more rounded than the bottom of the glass. Initially used to store fruits and jellies, farmers used them to drink out of when not being used for those purposes. These are generally used for Witbiers, Lambics, and various seasonal beers.
13. Thistle- This glass is named after Scotland’s official flower, the Thistle. Thistle glasses have a bulbous body like a Belgian glass or snifter and a flared mouth like a pint glass, with a small stem and a footer. The lip helps to emphasize and trap the head of the beer, and the bulb-like body allows the beer to be swirled to release the full aromas of the beer. These should be used for Scotch Ales, Barleywines and other non-hoppy beers.
14. Beer Steins- These are used to insulate your beer on a warm day to keep your beer cold. They were also used to prevent flies from getting into your beer during the times of the black plague. These tend to be used as decoration now, more often than used for beer. But they were meant for Vienna, Munich or Bock Style Lagers.
15. Beer Boots- These are just a novelty, due to their volume, they are usually drunk communally. They really have no practical use and don’t have a beer that is meant to be drunk out of them. If you are using a boot, you are not focused on quality of beer, but more focused on mass consumption. So your ideal beers to drink out of a boot would be Light Lagers, German Lagers, and Pilsners.
I did not cover EVERY single kind of glass in this post, as I am sure that there are more that I am forgetting or not aware of. But I tried to cover the glasses you will see most frequently at breweries on your travels, and some that you probably won’t see very often or at all. So next time you are sitting around at a brewery drinking a beer or two, you should now be able to identify the kind of glass you are drinking out of and what beers should be served out of that type of glass. Cheers!
-Shoutout to Mike Baluha for giving me the idea for this post at the brewery a few weeks ago while chatting with him.
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