This column appears on pages 16 and 17 of the July 2012 print issue, which you can download or view here.
Beer is best enjoyed from a container that doesn’t leak. Bottles or cans, red cups, pint glasses, and chalices all tend to get the job done; however, just like beers themselves, not all methods of liquid conveyance are created equally. Serving vessels come in all shapes, sizes, and even materials, and these differences can have a drastic impact on the experience of the drinker.
“You drink with your eyes first” is a phrase I’ve heard more than once by glassware companies. Funny how that works. But it also happens to be a mantra that I agree with. Beers come in a wide range of colors and clarities– some have billowing heads, while others display little to none. Differing glasses can have a profound effect on how a beer looks. A slender pilsner glass shows off the brilliant, pale color of its namesake beer, while a tin-lidded, earthenware steinkrüg protects your liter of helles or dunkel from the damaging rays of the sun and marauding insects while you enjoy a sunny afternoon on the beer garden. You may not be able to see your beer, but stylish folk art likely makes up for this.
While particular styles of glassware may make a beer more pleasing to look at, I find that much of my satisfaction with the appearance comes down to experience and familiarity with tradition. Cultures around the world have developed a sometimes dizzying array of beer glasses that are often matched with specific styles of beer, and once you learn which beers go in which glasses, those beers just don’t look right drank from something else. I cringe seeing a pilsner in a snifter or a dubbel in a pint glass. It’s just not right, I tell you! Likewise, lagers from Franconia don’t look right in tulip pint glasses, and dry stouts don’t quite fit into willi bechers. Duvel is that large tulip glass, not just the beer inside. Now that’s good marketing. Even minute details start to matter; Czech dark lagers go in curved dimpled mugs, while those from Munich go in straight dimpled mugs. Call me crazy.
Unfortunately, the American micro-brewing movement’s most enduring contribution to the world of beer glassware has been the most boring. The shaker pint glass, the standard “bar glass,” is just not that great – there’s no way around it. Its main benefits lie in the price, durability, stack-ability, and resemblance to English 20 oz pint glasses. The shaker pint also fails to contribute to the aroma or head of a beer. But, it’s ours, dammit, and I don’t see it going away anytime soon.
Imperial pint glasses (20 oz) typically add some flare and size to this basic concept of utility embodied by the shaker pint, either with a bump near the top to aid in grip and stack-ability (as with the nonic pint glass), or a concave upper half that aids in aroma concentration and just looks classier (the tulip pint, made ubiquitous by Guinness). I prefer either of these over the straight shaker, though I have had some good cask ales out of Imperial-sized shakers over in the UK. Turns out even they see some value in basic design. These glasses are well-served by low-to-moderate strength ales and porters in the Anglo or Anglo-American brewing style.
The Germans’ take on the basic utility glass is usually either the willi becher glass (looks like a shaker that angles back in at the top), or the thick glass mug. 0.5 liters is a pretty standard measure for either, though the one-liter maß mug famously dominates the Munich beer halls and Oktoberfest. Pretty much any lager from helles to doppelbock is good to go in either of these. Pilsner gets its own flute-like glass, with a slender profile often supported by a foot and short stem. Sometimes they are straight-sided, sometimes with a taper-in at the top, often with a gold rim for style. I particularly enjoy the Trumer Pilsner glass, which is just a straight tube, like a bigger kölsch glass.
The top-fermented beers of Germany all insist on their own glasses. Weissbier comes in a 0.5L vase with a slender base curving up into a bulbous top, though some with straighter sides are also common. This shape gives the hazy beer an almost pearlescent glow in good lighting, and also leaves plenty of room at the top for a big moussey head. Kölsch and altbier both come in small stange (stick) glasses that are just straight tubes of 0.2-0.3L. Alt glasses are a little more squat, which fits the beer’s more rugged, bitter profile. The smaller size ensures the beer in your glass is never more than a few minutes from the tap, which is the best way to enjoy these beers. A couple gulps and you’re ready for the next round.
A people after my own heart, the Belgians tend to get a little carried away when it comes to glassware. They’ve just about covered the entire spectrum, from the tumbler to champagne flute, and interestingly lambic is commonly served in both of those types of glasses. Overall, the main types of Belgian glasses are the chalice/goblet and the tulip, and almost all their beer styles fall into some variation of those; a select few styles veer into the territory of the snifter. Trappist and abbey ales tend to come in chalices, which evoke their religious roots. These glasses are mostly about looks, but do provide wide mouths for the thick foam that you often get in these highly-carbonated styles. Duvel has what is probably the most iconic tulip glass, with a large bowl and flared out lip that allows for good aromatic concentration and plenty of room for a massive head. Tulip glasses tend to be the best from a sensory standpoint, due to their ability to concentrate aroma and deliver the beer to the front of the tongue. If I’m at a beer tasting, this is my go-to style of glass.
Just like our random appropriations of the various brewing traditions, American brewers have adopted the full range of glassware. As mentioned above, the shaker is ubiquitous, but a surprising amount of awesome glasses have been proliferating in recent years. Lost Abbey’s use of the awesome Rastal Teku stemmed glass is a perfect example. This angular, wine glass-like creation is one of the classiest pieces of silica out there. Another of my favorite glasses from local brewers is the tulip glass from The Bruery, which is another thin-walled wonder from Rastal. Stone Brewing Co. has taken a particularly Belgian approach, with unique glasses for many of their different beers. Shakers still dominate the pint category, but Hess and some others have been rocking the willi becher, and tulip pints and nonics are easier to find every day. Snifters are also becoming common for smaller pours of strong and barrel-aged ales, which they compliment beautifully.
Beer should be fun, and getting a little crazy with glassware can only increase your enjoyment. Just remember that even though glasses do impact the look and to some extent the aromatic impression of a beer, there is no fundamentally “wrong” or “right” glass for a style of beer, just the traditional and the typical. If you like IPA in a tulip, then go for it. If an imperial pint of saison tickles your farmhouse fancy, then by all means indulge.