09/28/2011 - QC Beerguy - Glassware Makes the Beer

Glassware Makes the Beer

Believe it or not but what you drink your beer from can be the difference of you liking it or not.  Every beer drinker is familiar with the ubiquitous shaker pint glass.  Tapered glass with the mouth being the widest part and holding 16 ounces of beer.  Or so you think, there are some "pint" glasses that hold 14 or so ounces.  The secret is the bottom of the glass is thicker than the normal pint glass, so beware. 

Just because a glass is commonly used does not mean it is the best to enjoy beer from.  If you are familiar with Belgian beer, you will know that it seems that each beer has its own particular glass to showcase the beer.  Most of the glasses are some type of a tulip glass.  Which is a glass with a bowl on top of a stem and the mouth of the glass is smaller than the bowl.  Thus allowing aromas to be concentrated into your nose as you take a drink from the glass.   

As well there are various glasses used with German beers.  There is the pilsner glass, the hefeweizen glass and a few other special glasses for regional beer.  Lest not I forget the half liter and liter mug used with Oktoberfest beers.   Each glass has been proven over time to accentuate some desirable characteristic of the beer.  

So needless to say many a beer lover has multiple glasses to properly serve their beer in.  I know I have several cupboards full of glasses, that mainly go unused.  I find myself almost always using the pint glass.

There is an example of a current brewer using his considerable resources to design a new type of glass.  Jim Koch owner of Samuel Adams a couple years ago spent thousands of dollars to have engineers design a glass to showcase his beers.  The end result was a glass that easily fits into your hand but has a bowl and narrows at the mouth to concentrate the aromas of the beer.  The bowl helps keep the beer at proper temperate since it concentrates the volume of the beer into the bowl.

It truly does make a difference on choosing your glass ware as to how enjoyable the beer is.  Also there is a noticeable difference foe many people between actual glass and plastic "glasses".  In the QC area several places serve their beer in plastic cups if you are going to sit out on the patio.  Plastic can detract from the enjoyment, because of undesirable aromas or other characteristics.  So sometimes a beer will taste different between inside and outside because of the serving vessel.

Next time you order a beer sit back and think about your beer and the glass it came in.  Could it taste better in a different glass?  Does the place I am having my beer at really know how to best showcase the beer I am drinking?  Do not be afraid to ask your server if they are serving the beer in the proper glass.  Most times your server will refer you to the manager on duty to have your discussion.  If they only have pint glasses, then that is what you are able to drink out of.  So enjoy as much as you can.

One last note on glass ware.  Do not if possible drink a beer from an icy glass.  Ice = frozen water.  So it does a couple of tings to beer.  First it slightly dilutes your beer.  Second the glass is at freezing temps, so that means it will cool any beer you put into it.  Which is not necessarily a good thing.  Some beers are best at temperatures between 40 and 50 degrees.   So cold glasses repress the aromas and flavors of the beer.

QC Beerguy