Specialty beer glasses

The shape follows the beer. A stemmed tulip glass, with a belly that narrows towards the top, catches the aromas of a tripel or an IPA and keeps the head in place. A wide bowl does the same for trappist and dubbel, but gives more room to the heavier malt notes. A snifter of around 50 cl is meant for barley wine and quadrupel: you fill it only halfway and warm it with your hand. Wheat beer, by contrast, goes into a tall, straight 50 cl glass so the cloudy yeast stays visible. If you want something straight and sturdy for ordinary lager, have a look at the lager glasses or the beer steins.

On capacity, be generous. A bottle of specialty beer is 33 cl and it has to fit in complete with foam, so 40 to 50 cl is the practical minimum. If you work in hospitality, choose glasses with a fill line at 25 or 33 cl, because that saves arguments at the bar. Tempered glass has a reinforced rim and survives the glasswasher longer than thin-walled crystal glass.

Rinse the glass with cold water before you pour. A wet glass lets the head build evenly and stops the beer from clinging to the wall straight away. Hold the glass at an angle first, aim the stream at the wall and bring it upright halfway, so you pour the last few centimetres straight down. Two fingers of foam is the guideline: that layer holds the carbonation and protects the aromas underneath.

Temperature does more than most people think. Lager is poured at five to seven degrees, but a tripel, trappist or barley wine only really opens up at eight to twelve degrees. Too cold and all you taste is fizz. So take a bottle out of the fridge a quarter of an hour before pouring. If you want something stronger alongside it, the kopstoot is the classic pairing: a young jenever next to the beer, each drunk separately. For tastings with small measures, have a look at the tasting glasses.

Foam and grease do not mix. A trace of rinse aid, or a tea towel that has been over a greasy pan, makes the head collapse within ten seconds. Hence the term beer-clean: wash beer glasses separately from greasy crockery, with a detergent that contains no rinse aid, and rinse afterwards with clean water. Then let them drain upside down on a rack instead of drying them.

For the dishwasher, use a short glassware cycle and not too hot. Place glasses apart, because most breakage happens when rims knock together in the rack. Hospitality glasses with a tempered rim have a clear advantage here, and you will find those with the hospitality glasses.

If you want the complete picture, all the shapes sit together in the beer glasses, from stange glasses to weizen glasses. If you are after the glass of a specific brewery instead, for instance because you want to pour a Duvel or a Leffe into its matching glass, have a look at the Belgian beer glasses, where the original tulips and chalices are. And if you are fitting out a whole bar, the bar tools cover the equipment that goes with it, from jiggers to glass brushes.