Pour your beer into a great glass
Here are just four examples of beer glasses that are far
superior to the familiar form of the 16-ounce shaker pint, way over there on
the right. Note the middle width and narrow design on top, which maintains
carbonation and highlights aromas much better. The thinner glassware also
allows the beer to stay at a cooler temperature longer. At far left is
Speigelau’s IPA glass. If that’s your favorite style of beer, this is the glass
you want.
To stare too intently at a glass of beer or sniff it too
obviously in a bar or pub can be a questionable enterprise, but those are the
first steps in appreciation. All food and drink is enjoyed with the eyes and
nose as well as the mouth, and beer is no exception.”
— Michael Jackson, ”The New World
Guide to Beer”
This space has been devoted to the many things that go into
beer.
Instead, let’s consider what beer goes into when it’s
served, because it matters.
Whether it’s your favorite go-to beer or an expensive,
over-the-top specialty brew, complete the reward by considering a simple update
to your glassware.
This isn’t a frivolous or expensive piece of advice.
Let’s start with the most common glass in our kitchens and
favorite bars — the 16-ounce pint glass. It’s formally named the shaker pint
and I’ve heard it referred to as “The Joker.”
These sturdy glasses have been filled with all sorts of
beverages in American bars since the early 20th century. They’re fine for mixed
drinks and sodas, but not for beer. Not if you want to experience the full
aroma and flavor impact beer offers.
Some of my favorite bartenders and owners might be getting a
tad miffed right now, but it’s not your fault. Your customers expect these
glasses. They collect them from breweries and decades of use puts them at ease.
I’ve got a couple dozen at home.
So here’s the case. Shaker pints were here long before
American beer got bold and flavorful. Their outward flaring allows carbonation
to escape quickly, reducing head retention. That sturdy, thick glass actually
draws coldness out of the beer rather than containing it.
The alternatives are many. Snifters or tulip-shaped glasses
are a good place to start. They’re wider in the middle and narrower at the top,
capturing the key aromas, flavors and carbonation.
Thin glass, or better yet, crystal, maintains proper
beverage temperature longer simply because there’s less glass to draw the
coldness out of the beer.
Riki Tagliapietra oversees about 40 different styles of beer
on draught from 10 to 15 breweries each month at The Buzz. You’ll find shaker
pints there, but a lot of those beers are 10-ounce servings in 11-ounce
snifters.
“I’m taking alcohol content into consideration. I’m taking
flavor profile, aromatics into consideration,” he points out. “Something with a
real extreme taste, I’m not going to put into a pint, because you don’t want to
drink a pint of maple syrup stout.”
Tagliapietra takes those sensibilities home, too. “I really
drink something different every day,” he admits. “I’m an IPA drinker, but I
like more approachable ones. I honestly drink mostly out of the 10-ounce
snifter at home. It’s my comfortable glassware. I personally just like to get my
nose in my beer. I think that 90 percent of taste is smell, so no matter what
I’m drinking I really want to get that smell first even as I’m enjoying the
rest of the glass.”
A monthly average of 100 beers from 38 breweries pour
through 40 taps at Mike’s Sportsbook and Meat Bar. You’ll find the trusty pint
glass here, too, but as the beers get stronger and more flavorful, there are
eight- and 11-ounce snifters as well as 14-ounce tulip glasses. General manager
Brandon Zigner points out that snifters are designed to deliver smaller
portions of beer to the palate’s front, which detects sweetness and acidity,
before reaching the back palate, where bitterness is detected.
He also has 14-ounce tulip glasses. “I really like these
with our sour beers because I feel it’s hard to drink an entire 16-ounce glass
of a very tart or a very strong sour,” Zinger said. “A lot of sours are 4
percent or 5 percent (alcohol). They’re not that strong, so people feel kind of
ripped off when they’re paying $5 to $7, so this 14-ounce glass meets them
halfway.”
Craft breweries are aware of how glassware can amplify
flavors they work very hard to create.
“Today, beer is deep
in the midst of a renaissance, and with the advent of craft beer and craft
breweries — in this case, brewers focusing on making more flavorful beers in a
cornucopia of styles and flavors — beer, and how we serve it, is getting a
second look,” points out Bill Manley, director of brand development at Surly
Brewing in the Twin Cities.
“Here at Surly, we make a beer called Darkness. It’s a
Russian Imperial Stout, and it is rich, dark and heavy, but it’s also loaded
with rich and layered flavors of baker’s chocolate, cherries, raisins and
coffee,” he continued. “We suggest pouring that beer into a snifter or a
wide-bowled balloon glass. The wide bowl of the glass allows more exposure to
the air, which means it tempers faster. Moreover, as you hold the glass, the
surface area in contact with your hand gradually warms the beer, bringing out
all of the rich and layered flavors.”
Testing glassware
The core of this advice is to try the comparison yourself.
Start with a beer you consider bold, whether it’s hop forward or malt dominant.
- Pour an equal amount into each glass.
- Let the foam subside a bit and compare how it lingers,
then give it a little swirl before putting your nose to the mouth of the glass.
- Take in the aroma while tasting a sample from each glass.
n Within five minutes, compare the temperature on the sides
of each glass.
It’s a given that everyone will come away with different
impressions and opinions. If any of this sensory comparison enhances your
impression of the beer, you’re on your way.
Bill Siel, a Kenosha News photojournalist, has been
homebrewing since 1989 and has been involved in Kenosha
by Bill Siel
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