Does glassware matter?

The proper glass enhances the aroma and about 2/3 to 3/4 of what we taste is due to the aroma. Its also visually nice and it allows us to one up wine snobs because beer drinkers have a much wider selection of glass styles which should indicate that our product of choice is much more delicate and sophisticated.

 

Lots of good discussion here.

As others have posted it is all about the aroma. Much (most?) of beer appreciation is beer flavor and you need to experience good aroma for the ultimate in beer flavor perception.

If you can afford only one fancy glass for beer drinking/appreciation, get yourself a nice tulip glass. Maybe one like this:

 

A good glass definitely enhances the aroma very noticeably.

 

I have a lovely little tasting glass that holds a 12 oz pour, has a nice 3l line on it, is branded and is a short tulip and I use it almost every time. I love my sam adams pint glass which does exactly what it says it does if you look that up. Then I have my pints. A shaker, a nonic, a stange. I would say that the look of some beers in their proper glass is a really great feature of the drink.

 

Maria, I am guessing you meant to state your glass has a 0.3 liter line.

My favorite beer chalice has a 3 liter line about half way up the side!

 

Yeah, I was going to say if I could only have one glass, it would be a Duvel tulip. However, after seeing this, I remember having that glass and actually did use it for most beers as my way-too-many glasses were in storage. It was great for any beer.

 

IMO, a tulip shaped glass has a great benefit for beers that heavily rely on their aroma as part of their flavor profile. For example APAs, IPAs, Belgian Ales (Abbey, Trappist style, Strong Golden), …

For beer styles that don’t heavily rely on aromatics I would suggest that they benefit as well but perhaps in a lesser sense. One of the stated goals of a Pilsner glass is to showcase the beautiful straw/golden color of that beer style but my preferred Pilsner glass also has a ‘bowl’ type shape to it:



Who wouldn’t want to get every bit is aroma from their beer?

Cheers!

 

Yes. I meant to say a 0.3 liter line but typo. =)

 

Just checking. I thought that maybe you scored one of my chalices.

Cheers!

 

I think so. Aromatically especially. I actually wanted to see recently if Pliny was more enjoyable out of different glasses. So I had a Pliny in a spiegelau ipa glass, a standard pint glass, and a tulip. Although it was kind of a shitty controlled experiment given the fact that I had the beer three separate days. Albeit they were consecutive days, there may have been different reasons each day for a difference perception of taste and smell. However I drank Pliny out of the tulip on the last day, in which case it was even two days older than the day I had it out of a spiegelau, and it was considerably better. It had so much more aroma and that aroma really kicked off the taste too. I will forever prefer tulips because of my shitty randomized controlled experiment (for any hoppy beer at least).

 

I almost always pour into a glass. I really think the aroma presentation fom a glass does matter...a lot.

A quick question for everyone else...if you are drinking from a can/bottle, which do you prefer? I like the size/portability of a can, but I much prefer flavor from a bottle, especially IPAs. That may not be a popular POV, but I'd love to hear some other thoughts.

 

The beneficial feature (well, I consider it beneficial) of the Spiegelau IPA glass is that it has three ridges at the bottom that function as nucleation points. This assists in knocking CO2 out of solution and the CO2 bubbles carry the hop aromatics up to you nose.

Cheers!

 

IMHO, it does and it doesn't. If your intention is to just enjoy a nice beverage, use whatever you've got : the bottle/can, a funnel, the dog's water dish, a woman's slipper, a Solo cup, etc...

HOWEVER, if you truly want to enjoy all the subtleties that can be found in a brew (aroma, appearance, taste, etc.), then it does matter. I've also found that certain beer styles can taste different (not necessarily better or worse, just slightly different) when you put them in a type of glass that wasn't really designed for them. Can be a fun experiment if you have different glasses and don't mind washing a few extras.

Cheers !

 

I tried Christmas Bomb in one of my big snifters with a more open mouth. Then I poured another bottle into a smaller snifter with a small mouth opening. I think the aroma from the smaller snifter was more intense. I could get more chocolate and spices from that glass. The glass was smaller so I had to pour several times before I finished the beer but IMO it was worth it. For big robust stouts I always go for my small snifters now.

 

For me it does. I can't stand drinking from a thick-walled pint glass for example. I like the classic English sleeve which has relatively thin walls and the no-nic variety in particular. Sometimes at a bar I'll specify a glass from the choice they have (provided of same size of course). It's just a preference not an iron rule but I find it makes a difference, just as I can't enjoy a beer when I can't see it in clear light, hence I dislike porcelain pots and that type. Partial exception for the pewter mugs of England, as one of the best beers in my life was Director's Bitter in England 20-25 years ago (wen Courage was still Courage) in such a vessel. The prickle of the real beer matched the coolness and taste so to speak of the pewter.

 

Can't disagree entirely, but I recently was drinking a fairly fresh Sculpin (on the east coast) out of a bottle. In one of my beer-geekiest moments I can recall I had to grab a glass (really ANY glass) from my friend's cupboard for the second bottle. As such, having a glass for most or at least a certain variety of beers I feel is a must now, more than a nice-to-have. One [more] step toward beer snobbery...

 

Anyone who drinks a beer out of anything but that particular brewery's branded glassware is an absolute philistine.

 

Along with the aromatic components most touched on, I think glassware has an effect on HOW I drink a beer. Tulips and snifters that have more of a "ballooned" bottom and a curved lip at the top of the glass seem to be more conducive to sipping a beer (usually of higher abv). And while many have dismissed the pint glass, I find these more conducive for bigger drinks, or gulps (low abv ales and lagers). I also have more glassware than I need for the beers that I find fall between those extremes.

 

IMO i believe it does matter. I use my Teku glass pretty exclusively with my beers. It really helps with IPA aromas.

 

Ditto to all posts above. I personally find logo's and other designs on the glass to be distracting. I've gone as far as to remove them on some of my favorite shaped glasses, ones that best highlight the beauty of a well crafted brew. Of course I still like to collect logo glasses from breweries I've visited and what not, I just don't use them. Also, pint glasses do have their place such as a good quaffable pils.