My Tasting Ways – Glassware

It’s not that I am at all above drinking beer from a bottle or can (see Old Chub review), but proper glassware is very important to the overall beer drinking experience.   When I started this whole beer evaluation thing I read quite a bit about types of beer glasses to help me get a handle on it all.  There is a lot of additional information out there, but here I will let you in on what I do and the rules that I play by.

High quality beers deserve a glass.  As a comparison for the fermented grape juice drinkers out there (myself included), how many of you drink straight from the wine bottle?  (Maybe you shouldn’t answer that.)  An unfiltered beer is very similar to a wine with sediment in it.  If you don’t want the particulates to come with the beverage, it really needs to be poured into a vessel.  I am not saying that you should bring your favorite pilsner glass to the beach or to a back yard BBQ, but it’s worth the extra effort when the opportunity is there.

Appearance and aroma are very important to the enjoyment of a good beer.  As with food, looking good and smelling good can affect the perception of taste.  I would be willing to guess that most of us are more likely to eat or try something if it looks and smells enticing.  When a beer is still in the bottle or can, you don’t get the bonus of using the senses of sight and smell.  For me there have been many times where I have enjoyed a beer much more served in a glass than the same beer straight from the bottle.  You inhale as you take a drink and the aroma adds to and can alter your sense of the flavor.

One of the big dogs.

Though I probably go further with my beer glassware at home than most will want to, it is all still very basic.

I keep my glasses for beer clean.  I hand wash them and let the glasses air dry to avoid soap residues and whatever might be on the drying towel from staying with them.  That stuff can affect the head retention and alter the taste (which will be highlighted in the “Pouring” installment coming next in this series).  Also, most of my beer glasses are just that – beer glasses.  They are not for soda or milk or juice, though an occasional glass of water may be served in one.

It is best to have the glass be close to the same temperature as the beer you will be pouring into it.  I am not the best at thinking that far ahead about my beer choice so a room temperature glass for me is pretty common.  Though we have all pulled a frosty mug out of the freezer to enjoy a beer at some point in our lives, it’s not the best idea if you want the most flavor from your beer.  The ice on the glass waters the beer down and does the same with much of the taste.

I didn’t go out and buy any glasses when I decided to start recording beer evaluations.  I guess that I had accumulated to many types over the years to be more than enough for what I need.  As far as what I have and make use of at home on a somewhat regular basis:

• Mug/Steins (one wider with dimples, one more narrow)
• Pint Glass (someday to be an imperial pint glass)
• Oversized wine glass / Snifter
• Sampler glass (one of those from a brewery tour)
• Wine/champagne flute
• Ommegang glass (almost a tulip shape)
• Pilsner glass
• Weizen glass
• Stange (something slender and fairly close to one anyway)

A few tools of the trade.

My general rules are pretty straightforward.  The beers that are very aromatic and have higher alcohol contents go in larger, more open glasses like the oversized wine glass.  Good dark ales and the like often end up in the pint glass or mug.  The lighter, more delicate beers go in more slender glasses (with the pilsner and weizen glasses being self explanatory).  There are many beers that I am unsure about and I will reference Beeradvocate for a final decision since it has a really good list of what styles belong where.  When in doubt, it probably is good to err on the side of a larger glass to help open up and enjoy the aroma of the beer.

How important is all of this?  I have read (and I believe seen on a Three Sheets episode involving a “ski patrol”) that many, if not all of the breweries in Belgium have a specific glass that is to be used with their beer.  They are chosen or designed to accentuate certain qualities in their brew.  If it’s that important to breweries in Belgium (which make some of the best beer in the world), then I will take the time to at least grab a pint glass for my next beer.