Comparing beer glasses

Of late, I've wondered if all beer glasses were created equally. So I set out to experience this for myself this afternoon. I've got a stash of about a dozen beer/wine glasses, and picked the ones that I use more often. I decided on the following:


Now, I needed a beer that was sufficiently complex and flavorful to set the glasses to the test, so I picked this:


I let the bottle sit for 20 mins to allow it to warm up just a tad to allow the flavors to pop up, and then poured it into the glasses:



I originally intended to test the glasses for the aroma, and then decided to include taste into the equation as well. One might ask, is it possible that a beer could taste different when sampled from different glasses. And that was what I intended to find out. All scores are based out of 5, with 5 being the best.

Aroma test:
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Tripel Karmeliet tulip - I got some pretty strong notes of cherry followed by wood. Not bad, but not remarkable either. 3.75/5

Delirium Tremens tulip - I got a lot of cherry on the nose, followed by wood and some vanilla notes. Very markedly different from the previous glass, and certainly a wonderful olfactory experience. 4.75/5

Samuel Smith pint glass - I know that some folks might scratch their heads on this one, but given that it is my go-to pint glass, I thought why not. I got a lot of vanilla in this glass surprisingly, and very slight wood notes. The cherry was nowhere present. Not bad. 4/5

Libbey Champagne Flute - This was the weakest performer of the lot. I got faint whiffs of vanilla and cherry, the aromas did not improve upon swirlning. I'm torn between a 2.5 - 3.5 on this, but considering the other glasses, I'll make this a 2.75/5. Nothing remarkable.

Del Sol wine sampling glass - I had high hopes for this one, considering this is my go-to for the high-gravity beers.I got notes of vanilla and cherry in equal measure. Nothing overpowering, but rather a very soft, balanced, sensation. Pretty good, but not enough to beat the Delirium Tremens. 4/5

Allagash stemmed glass - Here I got a lot of vanilla followed by faint cherry notes, and some wood aromas. Certainly a wonderful experience. Ties the Delirium Tremens. 4.75/5

Duvel tulip - Will the venerable Duvel tulip hold up to the expectations - let's find out. Here I got a lot of vanilla again, followed by wood notes, and then cherry aromas. The vanilla certainly dominated, just like Allagash, although the wood and cherry aromas got juxtaposed. Interesting. 4.75/5

Kostritzer - this was the weakest of all. I got very weak vanilla and cherry and some wood notes. Wish it did a better job. 2.5/5

Meukow snifter - I had to throw in a snifter for good measure. I got some very faint cherry, but nothing beyond that. Quite unremarkable. 2.5/5

So, this narrows down the list to the following 3:


The taste test:
I focused on the top 3 to start with, and then went to the rest. Here's how that unfolded:
Delirium Tremens - While the aroma exploded with strong cherry notes, and then some vanilla and wood, the taste surprisingly showcased only the vanilla and cherry notes. And they were both in perfect balance on the taste, as opposed to the aroma, where the cherry clearly dominated the vanilla in this glass. Interesting - still hangs on to its 4.75/5

Allagash - By now, the beer had warmed up just a tad, and I was getting vanilla and cherry. The taste followed smell, and it was an extremely balanced mix of vanilla and cherry. I think we may have a winner here - 5/5

Duvel - Just like the Allagash, here the aromas were equally split between vanilla and cherry, and the taste followed the nose. Wonderful! 5/5

I now went back to the Delirium tulip to see if my nose was influenced by the first sip, oh no, the Delirium was still showcasing the cherry notes up front.

So here are the winners:


Now, I felt compelled to bring back the DelSol winery glass that was the first one to demonstrate an equal split between the vanilla and cherry notes. So there you have, can't go wrong with any of the 4, unless you have to be absolutely nitpicky...



Now with my mind at ease, I went back to finishing up the other glasses, here are my notes:
Tripel Karmeliet - tasted just about the same - equal vanilla and cherry, although I really did wish it would showcase the aromas a bit more.
Sam Smith pint glass - here the flavors came out more rounded surprisingly, permitting bigger gulps. This glass works really well for session beers where taking big gulps may be tantamount to a good drinking experience.
Flute - nothing remarkable. I think I can safely put this away.
Kostritzer - What it lacked in the aromas, it more than made up in the taste department. The flavors came out sharper. I believe this may be due to the reduced nucleation which enabled the goblet to retain the carbonation leading to the flavors bursting open in the mouth.
Snifter - same as the Kostritzer.

So there you have it - the winners turned out to be the usual suspects with the surprise inclusion of the Allagash stemmed glass. And now, I will finish up the rest of the bottle. Cheers!