Does the style of glass really matter when drinking beer?

I do have a moderate collection of different styles of glassware, but a lot of that is because I enjoy collecting things and find using different glassware fun. At the end of the day, as long as I'm not drinking from a bottle, I don't particularly mind what kind of glass I'm drinking from.

 

To me it matters. I can take a big BA stout and put it in a normal pint glass or I can put it in a tulip and both will taste great. The difference for me is the mainly in the smell and aromatics of an ale. Certain glasses help me in smelling the beer which is a HUGE part of tasting.

 

There are nuances to certain glass styles. Generally if you use a tulip for any beer but an adjunct lager,low alcohol, malt liquor, or light lager you should be fine. The shape of the glass maximizes the aromas.

 

The only thing that matters in the size of the opening of the glass. It's pretty common sense that the smaller the opening the more concentrated the aroma will be coming out. Outside of that, I do not believe shape or size of the glass means anything, it's all just personal preference.

 

It absolutely matters.

 

The both TASTE great but they dont both hold the aroma and nose. Like with wine glasses, the aroma and smell of the beer is greater if there is a large, air filled portion of the glass that holds the smell (like in a red wine glass or tulip/sniffer). Being that a majority of how we interpret flavor comes from smell rather than taste, this has a huge impact. If you dont believe me try drinking a stout right out of the bottle without sniffing it then pouring it into a glass where it has room to breath, you'll notice a difference.

 

Of course it does.
Which is why I always drink out of a red Dixie cup. Some people prefer Solo, but Dixie has never let me down. The plastic adsorbing the beer really balances the beer out.

 

But the amount of room to breath and concentrate aromas in a sniffer/tulip verses no room in a pint is what were getting at here. More room = more concentrated aromas = better flavor

 

Science.

 

Depends what you mean by "really matter".

Does your glassware choice completely kill a beer or make a mediocre beer excel? No.

But if maximizing enjoyment of beer is important to you, especially if you dropped serious cash on a particular bottle, then yeah you should seek out an appropriate glass.


My tulip (or any glass with a tapered opening) gives me the most concentrated aromas, so I use that most often at home. And I love a beer's aroma just as much as it's flavor.

 

Not really, otherwise the beer wouldn't still smell and taste awesome when tailgating, camping etc. . .

(Says the guy w/ about 100 different pieces of glassware, sigh).

 

In the ads for the Sam Adams glass, it describes why certain features were included like the rounded shape with the narrow top, the etching in the bottom, the rolled lip, etc.
http://realbeer.com/edu/images/2007_sam-adams-glass.jpg