Does glassware matter?

at the bars i've been to, most beers are served in shaker pint glasses or high abv beers in tulip glasses. it's not a huge deal but ideally i'd use different glassware.

6 months ago i stopped using my nonic pint for IPAs and starting using the Spiegelau IPA glass. (i also use the Spiegelau Stout glass) i LOVE the Spiegelau IPA glass.

-looks cooler than a pint glass
-head retention is better
-aroma is stronger

 

Doesn't matter much to me, but---hey!---drinking good beer is a hobby and if it improves your enjoyment, by all means use the "proper" glassware.

 

Glassware shape effects 3 things; aroma concentration (opening size), light penetration (color and clarity perception due to the width of the glass) and warming rate (heat transfer rate due to surface area). Subtle influences, but real nonetheless. Since serving temperature and aroma influence taste, taste is affected. The degree of influence will vary based on the beer and its properties and the ability of the drinker to perceive subtle changes. So yes, glassware can matter, but usually not very much to most of us.

 

Oh, the aromas of that Bud Select 55 in a pilsener glass will blow your mind. Also, I pour my BCBS in to my hands and lap it up like a dog.

 

As long as you don't drink a barleywine out of a 1L dimpled mug or drink an adjunct lager out of a teku, I think everything else is okay.

 

I almost always use a tulip/goblet for everything. Although, yesterday I was doing dinner prep and drank my Tallgrass Songbird Saison straight from the can. I'm an animal.

 

Aroma is somewhat misunderstood , yes it's nice to gat a waft of something nice when you raise the glass but that's not to be confused with where the taste comes from while drinking. With a cold you can't tasts properly , that's because the aroma elements in your mouth (not in the glass!) are blocked by mucus.
I love cask beer but because of the low carbonation there isn't any great aroma present. I console myself with the fact that any aroma in the glasss is that which has been stolen from the beer so there's more left in the liquid

 

If I'm busy doing something I frequently skip glassware altogether. Often happens with Tallgrass 8-Bit for me.

 

Not sure if this is considered a beer drinking faux-pa (sp?), but i like to drink any and all beers out of a snifter. Ill even request it at the bars regardless of whether Im drinking a stout or not.

 

It might be all in my head, but the glass really does make the difference for me.

 

As you say, Aroma is somewhat misunderstood. There are both ortho and retro nasal olfaction involved in perception of flavors and normally they both play a role. Indeed, some evidence suggests they play slightly different roles so that blocking off either can affect the ability to pick up flavors and in different ways.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ffj.1475/abstract

From the perspective of beer on cask, my accumulated time in UK pubs over multiple visits has built up a great love for a well done and well cared for cask ale (regardless of the relative amounts of ortho and retro nasal olfaction ). One of the things I miss most from my travels there are free afternoons with friends in a pleasant country side pub sharing pints and talking about whatever comes up. (It always used to surpise the cab driver while heading from the train to my lodgings when I'd ask for an opinion on "what's the best local bitter?" )

 

faux pas... (just trying to help)

 

I got the Spiegelau IPA glasses for Christmas, which was just after I'd gotten a six-pack of Sculpin and another of Grapefruit Sculpin (first time I ever tried these beers). Neither of the beers had impressed me that much before getting the fancy glasses. I wasn't expecting the glassware to make much of a difference but it did, in both smell and taste, especially for the Grapefruit one.

So from my personal experience, all other things being the same, it can make a noticeable difference. In that sense I would recommend to anyone on the fence to lash out on some nice glasses and see for themselves. But at the end of the day, it's a very subjective thing, and there are many other factors that will have a bigger impact on your beer drinking experience (for example I can't believe how many people here report getting high while savoring nice beers?? Not that I have anything against it, I just can't imagine being able to taste properly after smoking a joint.)

 

Just ask my tekus.

 

Since I got a Spiegelau IPA glass, I never really use anything else for hoppy beers! It's great!

 

The tongue can distinguish among sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami; all the other aspects of the beer are sensed in the olfactory organs. Using a glass that concentrates aromas toward the nose makes a marked difference in the way one can perceive the "flavor" of the beer.

When I have a head cold where my nasal passages are plugged, I don't bother cracking anything other than a run-of-the-mill lager. I just won't enjoy it or pick up on the nuances.

 

It makes a difference but in my eyes it's not as big as some people think. The aroma and flavor definitely change, 1) it releases excess gasses and 2 the right glass will concentrate aromas, 50 percent of human taste comes from what we smell. You dont need to have a different kind of glass for every beer your drink. I drink most of my lagers the first time from a pint glass, and almost any kind of ale out of a snifter or tulip. As for AAJ's and euro pale lagers, after the first time I usually just drink them from the bottle.

 

Some of these posts make it sound like it is a choice between using a glass that form-fits around your nose and drinking through a straw from a travel mug.

Where does your nose go when you drink from an Imperial pint glass? Oh, yeah, just a bit below the top rim (unless you fill it to the rim). "Proper" glassware is not a choice between all or nothing.

 

I totally have broken a ton of nice glasses because I am clumsy. I have learned how to handle them now and it doesn't happen as much. To me you gotta have a nice glass. It can really detract from the experience if you are drinking a beer from a plastic solo cup. Ewwwww, gatchchchh

 

I keep meaning to order one of those cool Sauvin beer glasses. Right now it's either the Nonic or a snifter for the "la.. de.. da" stuff. I guess a good Tulip would be nice to have as well. Once I have all four, I guess it would be easy enough to spread a bomber out equally, and put the glassware to the test. Cheers!