Specialty beer glasses

The beer determines the shape. A stemmed tulip glass has a bowl that narrows toward the top. It traps the aromas of a tripel or IPA and keeps the head firm. A wide goblet does roughly the same for Trappist and dubbel beers, with more room for heavier malty aromas. For barley wine and quadrupel, use a snifter of around 50 cl. Fill it only halfway and warm it with your hand. Witbier belongs in a tall, straight 50 cl glass, so you can still see the cloudy yeast. For regular pilsner, you want something straight-sided and sturdy, which you’ll find among the pilsner glasses or among the beer mugs.

It’s better to choose a glass that’s a little too large. A bottle of specialty beer contains 33 cl, and it should fit, including the head. Anything under 40 to 50 cl gets tight. In bars and restaurants, choose glasses marked at 25 or 33 cl. That prevents hassle at the bar. Tempered glass has a reinforced rim and lasts longer in the dishwasher than thin crystal glass.

First rinse the glass with cold water. In a wet glass, the foam builds up evenly and the beer won’t stick to the sides straight away. Start with the glass tilted and let the stream run down the side. Halfway through, hold it upright and pour the last few centimeters straight in. Aim for two fingers of foam. That layer traps the carbonation and protects the aroma underneath.

Temperature matters more than you might think. Drink pilsner at five to seven degrees. A tripel, Trappist beer, or barley wine only really opens up between eight and twelve degrees. If the beer is too cold, all you taste is fizz. So take the bottle out of the fridge fifteen minutes before pouring. If you want something stronger with it, the beer-and-jenever pairing is the classic choice. Serve a young jenever alongside the beer and drink them separately. If you’re organizing a tasting with small pours, take a look at the tasting glasses.

Fat and foam don't go well together. A little rinse aid, or a tea towel that was used to dry a greasy pan, and the head collapses in under ten seconds. That's where the term beer-clean comes from. Wash beer glasses separately from greasy dishes, use a detergent without rinse aid, and rinse them with clean water afterward. Don't dry them; leave them upside down on a rack to drain.

In the dishwasher, choose a short glassware cycle at a moderate temperature. Place the glasses apart from each other. Most breakages happen when the rims knock against each other in the rack. Commercial glasses with reinforced rims are much less prone to this. You can find them at commercial glasses.

If you want to see all the styles side by side, from stemmed beer glasses to wheat beer glasses, take a look at beer glasses. Looking for a glass from a particular brewery because you want to pour a Duvel or Leffe into its own glass? You’ll find the original tulip glasses and chalices in Belgian beer glasses. Setting up a complete bar? Find all the tools you need in bar tools, from spirit measures to glass brushes.