Beer to Glass
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as going to your local brewery and getting a glass of beautiful brew to enjoy. Most of us don’t think too much about the glassware our beer is served in, but we should. A world-class beer’s best characteristics that make it stand out from lesser beers can be ruined with the wrong glass. You might be thinking, “well that seems a little extreme . . .” but consider this for a moment, in Belgium, nearly every brewery has their own specific glassware for the beer to be served in. Many places will not serve you until the proper glass becomes available should they all currently be in use. Why in the world do they take their beer service so seriously? While some of the bias and tradition may be thanks to marketing, the style of glassware can make the experience of the beer better!
Let’s start with some background on how glassware became such an iconic part of beer service and why the “right” type of glass, meaning a glass that allows the consumer the best experience from a beer, can make the difference. Before the industrial revolution in Europe, most beverages were consumed out of earthenware mugs and steins. Only the rich were able to drink out of expensive, hand-blown glassware. Starting in the 1840s though, technology became available for mass production of not only glass bottles but glassware as well. With the addition of the growth of better industrial filtration methods for beer, the popularity of glassware over earthenware grew rapidly as patrons were able to gaze at the beauty of their beers’ color and clarity. From the popularity grew the creativity of different styles, faceted and dimpled, with and without stems, along with flared tulip-styled rims.
As much of tasting is not only orthonasal (what we detect by sniffing, far up the nasal cavities), what we might refer to as “true smell” — but also retronasal (what we detect when aroma molecules move onto our nasal bulb from inside of the mouth). That being said, aroma can impact the flavor of the beer immensely! (If you don’t believe it, try eating with your nose closed.) Neurogastronomy comes into effect from here. Simply put, this is how the brain interprets chemical compounds taken in by our nose and mouth and translates it into recognizable flavors and aromas. At varying temperatures, certain aromas and flavors become much more pronounced while others fade away. These chemical compounds may also wildly change in our minds by the shape of the glass.
Beer glassware is important for another reason too — carbonation. In a can or bottle, the beer holds onto its dissolved CO2, which means later on, you might be a little gassier or bloated from drinking straight out of the bottle. Pouring a beer into a glass allows for the release of excessive CO2 and carbonation and opens up the beer to a better variety of flavors and aromas. To pour a proper beer with the right amount of head that will release a good amount of excessive CO2 is simple — hold the glass at a 45 degree angle, slowly pouring the beer down the side of the glass until you are around two-thirds full, then tilt the glass straight up to a 90 degree angle, allowing the head to form to around a half inch to an inch (1–2.5 cm) depending on beer style.
There are three main factors as to why each glass is different and why some are better suited for certain styles: Aroma, taste, and appearance. Let’s start with aroma.
Aroma
In a recent demonstration I held with a few other homebrewers and pro brewers, we took classic styles and put the beers in various glasses to show the difference in not only serving style and head retention, but specifically the impact of glassware on aromatics. Fairly consistent factors for all styles were head retention based on the type of glass. The smaller circumference of glassware such as a footed Pilsner glass, weissbier glass, and Champagne flute all allowed the head to stay for a much longer time but stifled the aromatics as they don’t leave enough room for you to swirl your beer. In larger circumference glassware such as a standard tulip, red wine glass, and snifter, the head would dissipate fairly quickly but because of the large bowl surface, allowed the aromatics to be brought out much better.
In this same demonstration, we used a commercially available IPA to represent the West Coast IPA style with various glassware. We compared the IPA in a shaker pint, a Belgian tulip, a Teku, a Spiegelau IPA glass, a Glencairn scotch glass, and a Samuel Adams proprietary glass. Our collective pre-pour opinions leaned away from the pint glass, and towards the Teku, Spiegelau, and tulip glassware. As we smelled each glass, compared and discussed, what we found surprised us. We all hated the tulip, as it brought to the forefront a vegetal and astringent bitterness on the nose. The Teku left us underwhelmed, but much more fruit-forward and dank, while the Spiegelau left the beer slightly more sweet smelling with citrus and lemon, and even a slight reminiscence of peach rings candy. The Glencairn shot forth vegetal and carrot notes that were less than pleasing. The shaker pint was, no surprise, boring and muted on all fronts.
The winner by a long shot was the Samuel Adams proprietary glass designed by Jim Koch himself for Boston Lager. The glass lent itself to an uncanny ability to swirl your beer, mixed with the internal laser etching at the base, releasing aromatics of orange, tropical fruits, a distinct hop palate, brown sugar, and cotton candy, and our favorite part — no vegetal notes.
An interesting result of this test showed that the two glasses that most funnel aromas into the nose — the Belgian tulip and Glencairn glasses — were the two in which a vegetal character was detected. This led us to believe the beer wasn’t the best for taste and aroma but that the Glencairn and the tulip were actually better for sensory panels. It should be pointed out, that tulip glasses are one of the most common for aroma tests because of how the design funnels aromas to the nose.
While the Samuel Adams glass resulted in the most enjoyable experience, it may not be the best glass from a sensory panel view as far as expressing the full aroma including flaws. This brought up an interesting debate when it came to the amount of other aromas and flavors we were able to perceive using this glass. Still, after that particular beer panel, our hats went off to Jim — his two years of hard work paid off to create an excellent beer glass resulting an a great beer drinking experience.
Taste
A classic beer to taste, partially due to its naturally ever-evolving flavor and aroma from batch to batch, is the Belgian monolith, Orval. If we were focused on our orthonasal senses before with the IPA, gathering and analyzing the aromas contributed or relinquished with different shaped glassware, we honed in on the retronasal this time. For Orval, we experimented using a traditional Orval branded chalice, a shaker pint, a red wine glass, a Teku, a brandy snifter, and a Glencairn scotch glass. Using the aromatic qualities, be they good or bad, of each glass, we noticed a significant difference in flavor between blind tastings.
From our least favorite, the red wine glass, we noticed a stark minerality, especially limestone, with a hint of noble hop spice, followed by the shaker pint, which although having good head retention, lacked the Brettanomyces character, and lent itself to more of a dry, catty grape juice flavor rather than the beautiful Belgian pale ale it is. Next was the brandy snifter, which had low carbonation and all our palates saw differently, ranging from skunky with high minerality, to bright and citrusy with a hint of soapiness, to a great hop character with muted Belgian esters. From there we all loved the classic style of the Orval chalice and noted how it emphasized the beer’s Brett and hoppy character, but we were split on what we thought was the best glass between the Teku and the Glencairn. Both glasses brought Orval to a floral, earthy front with a nice hop profile and spicy Belgian esters.
As far as taste was concerned, the best glasses were the Teku and Glencairn, however we all agreed as far as presentation and nostalgia, regardless of taste, the magnificently branded Orval chalice was the pick, which brings us to our final reason for glassware.
Appearance
Appearance has been a main driving force for glassware for over a century and a half. New glassware for the masses is one of the reasons that drove Pilsner’s popularity, as consumers saw the crystal brightness, how the yellow color kissed the light. Beer’s color and appearance is the reason dimpled glass steins run from Munich, Germany to Los Angeles, California during Oktoberfest season, red-hued Märzens and amber-yellow Vienna lagers sparkling against the facets as the top inch (2.5 cm) and lip hold in a dense but soft head. Aesthetics can make any product sell better, ask anyone in marketing, and beer is no different. (Orval had our hearts over our minds in the aroma section because of this!) A glass with an interesting shape, maybe some sexy curves, throw in a stem and you have the makings of an attractive beer glass, depending on the beer.
A short stubby stem has the potential to give a glass a sense of sophistication while allowing the owner to firmly grasp their hand around the basin, gently warming it with their hand, releasing dark and rich tones of the beer, or adversely opposite, allowing the drinker to keep their hand away from the basin, keeping the beer colder. A great example of this is an imperial stout served in a snifter or brandy glass. Right out of the fridge, this beer will provide a soft, dark roast and milk chocolate, but this same beer when warmed from 40 to 50 °F (4 to 10 °C), suddenly turns from a quaint quartet to a full symphony. The crescendo of chocolate and dried fruits like raisins and prunes, hints of Sherry, tiramisu-like savoriness, all combine, churning around in a glorious fishbowl on a pedestal.
In some cases of our little tasting experiment, we were pleasantly surprised by how the glassware affected the experience of the beer. The best beer to use for this subject was Consecration from Russian River Brewing, using a pint glass — the horror to Vinnie Cilurzo — a Teku, a tulip, a Glencairn, a Pilsner glass, and a Champagne flute. As far as aesthetics, the shaker pint fell far away. Although the Pilsner glass maintained a slight head retention, it did not complement the ruby red color like the flute, which was definitely lacking in aroma and taste but looked gorgeous when poured. Very untraditional, but based on the color, very fitting, the Glencairn showed a rich eminence of red tint and complemented the beer, giving it a rich and decadent quality. Then we had the very classic tulip, which makes any beer look timeless, but shockingly did not do any justice to Consecration, making it almost taste dusty and vegetal in comparison to the other glasses. On a more modern take and with growing popularity, the Teku made a far standing in all three categories, looking refined and elegant while being utilitarian and enhancing the aromatics as well as the flavor.
Beer Glass Design
Regardless of how a glass might look at first glance, many glasses are designed to be beneficial for every aspect of the enhancement of certain styles of beer. But, based on the lip of the glass, they also control the amount of liquid that is physically able to be released at one time. Shaker pints (oddly misnamed as they rarely hold a “pint” of liquid) grew in popularity around the 1980s and not only were they used by the bartender to obviously shake up your whiskey drink, but they allowed patrons to guzzle sessionable beers at a faster rate, allowing bars to sell more beer in a faster time. They were also cheap, durable, stackable, and utilitarian for bars and microbreweries. In comparison to the shaker pint, a Pokal, with its inward tapering, only allows the mouth to take in approximately an ounce (30 mL) at a time instead of multiple ounces at once. The amount of liquid naturally restricted by the glass is an important factor in terms of consumption speed when it comes to higher ABV beers such as double IPAs, scotch ales, and barleywines, so the consumer doesn’t go “too hard, too fast.”
Stems are usually incorporated into glassware as a way to either make holding the glass easier, to maintain minimum hand contact with the base of the vessel for liquid temperature, or to increase the ease of swirling the liquid in the glass for the beverages’ aromatic qualities. In many cases it’s a bit of all three. A commonality you gather from many, specifically Belgian, glasses is the outward tapering to what we perceive as the classic tulip shape. This outward shooting lip, nicknamed for its flower-like appearance, serves a twofold purpose, the first of which is head retention as the shape allows for the beer head to be cradled in the half inch to inch of glass (1 to 2.5 cm), and the second of which is to allow the aroma of the beer to float to the nose better. The ease at which you can swish your beer in a tulip style glass is tenaciously designed for aromatic beers such as Belgians, sours, and noble hop-forward beers.
Height of glassware can be another factor brought to the table, such as in Pilsner and weissbier glasses. Pilsner “flutes” came pretty early and became quickly the most varied in 19th century Europe, with the thin, tall walls of the glass showcasing the light-yellow color with brilliant lager clarity, and a steady stream of bubbles stemming from the bottom nucleation to an effervescent, white head. Meanwhile the sturdy, slightly chunky weissbier glass, meant to reflect the light against the hazy grandeur of hefeweizens and other wheat beers, while allowing the wide mouth for a solid three fingers of head.
Glassware Care
Proper glass cleaning, maintenance, and storage is fairly simple, as most glasses can be rinsed with normal dish soap so long as rinsed thoroughly to prevent the soap from interfering with head retention, then dried upside down in a rack with allowance for plenty of airflow to naturally dry the glass. There are more complicated ways of cleaning your glasses such as the three stage method applied at restaurants and breweries, which is hot soapy water, a thorough rinse with cold water and then a 30-second sanitizer, which may vary by chemical manufacturers. But, in most cases without excessive hard water, rinsing the glass after use and rinsing once more before pouring tends to do the trick pretty well I’ve found, except in cases where lipstick or oils and fats from food have gotten in the way. Before pouring your beer, you may try a quick test by sprinkling salt inside the glass to test for proper cleaning methods. If the salt sticks around the glass uniformly, the glass is “beer clean,” while oils will prevent the salt from sticking in areas. The best ways to tell if a glass is “beer clean” is first and foremost, are there bubbles on the walls of the glass? Does the foam from the head lace the beer in concentric circles as your drink? If you answer yes to both, then your glass is beer-clean.
As far as storage goes, the most common practice is to keep glasses in a closed area such as a cabinet to prevent dust build up in and outside of the glass. For my personal preference, I like to keep my glasses stored upside down to prevent dust build up. Never leave your glasses/mugs in the freezer, as ice crystals form and will water down your beer, not to mention, beer should on average be served around 39–42 °F (4–6 °C) for the best flavor and aromatics, depending on the beer style. So if you store your beer in your fridge, there is really no benefit to pouring beer into a cold glass.
