Different Beer Glass Types - What's all the Hype About?
I counted one day, and I regret that I did. While I won’t divulge the exact number, I will share that we have considerably more “fancy” beer glasses and pints than we do reg ular drinking glasses. Some, came along with tastings. Some, we bought because I liked the logo. Some, we bought because their shape supposedly impacts the way beer presents itself. So, it’s got me thinking, does it actually have an impact, or have we just bought into the hype?
Red wine consumed out of a glass intended for white wine has no influence on flavor to me. Is that wrong? In fact, I’ve had wine out of a red solo cup, out of a coffee mug, a thermos (maybe I should stop there, it sounds like I have a problem) and the wine still tasted fantastically winetastic. So, what about beer? Here’s some information I found.
There are at least nine different glass shapes that include: Tulip, Chalice, Pilsner, Weizen, Snifter, Pints (of varying sorts), and Tumblers. Some of the shapes, like the Tulip, are designed to emphasize the aroma while drinking beer. I must say, I personally find the scent to be an incredibly influential portion of the tasting process in how I interpret what I’m tasting and the overall flavor of the beer. So, having a glass that highlights this feature does impact the tasting process for me. Some folks who are highly sensitive to smell will be influenced, regardless of the glass they’re drinking out of. Others, who have limitations to their smell (my father, for example, has had his sense of smell damaged as a result of cancer treatments), may actually need a way to magnify this feature in order to even make a note of it while drinking. Even then, it may impact their interpretation of the flavor complexities in the beverage they’re consuming.
Certain shapes allow for taking sips more easily. I’ve never experienced any inconvenience with having a drink reach my mouth (or food for that matter), but I guess that may be an issue for someone. If so, be happy to know that there are glasses created to ease with the glass to mouth transition. Hurrah!
Some of the shapes are intended to highlight the overall appearance of the beer. While I do take note of the color and clarity of the brew, it is more of an incidental correlation between murkiness, for example, and drinking a beer that hasn’t been filtered. The lack of filtration impacts the flavor, but not the appearance itself. In fact, I could probably tell that a drink was darker in color or murky in nature after having taken a sip and never looking at the glass containing the beverage.