5x which glass for which beer
When you order a specialty beer at a good café, you’ll usually get a beautiful matching glass. But what is that glass actually for? Does a pilsner really taste that much better from a pilsner glass? And does an abbey beer really belong in that large goblet? Beer sommeliers Pepijn van der Waa and Dennis Kort explain.
According to both sommeliers, the beer glass influences how you drink and experience the beer. From pilsner glasses to Weizenglas, here’s why:
Pilsner glass
Pilsner is served in a vase (an Amsterdammer) or a flute. “Pilsner is a pure beer and doesn’t have powerful aromas, but it is refreshing and thirst-quenching. The carbonation in pilsner also dissipates very quickly. A pilsner glass is a long, thin glass, slightly narrower at the bottom and somewhat wider at the top. It is designed for easy drinking, so you can take good sips from it,” says Van der Waa.
“Pilsner is also sometimes served in a glass with a stem; the advantage is that the beer doesn’t warm up as quickly because you hold it by the stem,” Kort adds.
Low-alcohol beer glasses
“Beers with a low alcohol percentage (such as rosé beer, Heineken 0% or Jillz) are served in the same type of glass as pilsner. And it’s actually the same as with pilsner: the glass isn’t very important for the taste and aroma, but the color and clarity show best in this glass. Because of the shape of the glass, these beers are also easy to drink,” Kort explains.
Tulip glass
Cafés serve this glass with a stronger blond beer (such as Duvel), but also with bock beer. “This is a good glass to drink beer from. It is rounded at the bottom and becomes narrower toward the top. Because the head on the beer is more tightly contained, the aroma and flavor dissipate much less quickly from the glass,” says Van der Waa. “There is also a slightly slimmer version of the tulip glass. Beers such as an IPA are served in this one. The same applies as with the somewhat rounder tulip glass.”
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Goblet/chalice glass
“If you order an abbey beer, it comes in a goblet glass (think of a dubbel or a Trappist). This actually isn’t a good glass to drink beer from; the aroma and flavor dissipate more quickly because of the large, flared top. The brand chooses this glass because abbey beer has a Christian background. In the past, they drank grape wine from a goblet, and now they drink abbey beer from one. Of course, this fits such a brand very well,” says Van der Waa. “There is one advantage: because of the large glass, you drink the beer much more slowly, which is nice with such a strong beer.”
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Weizen glass
German beers such as Paulaner or Erdinger are served in large half-liter glasses. According to Van der Waa, these half-liter glasses have to do with the character of the beer: “It goes down easily. The beer doesn’t have a generous head, but the narrow top does make it stand out.”
According to both sommeliers, most beer glasses are really more of a marketing tool. Van der Waa explains: “Take the Kwak glasses, for example (which come with a wooden holder). Very beautiful, but they don’t necessarily do anything for the beer. You do recognize the beer by the glasses, of course. A brand likes to serve a special glass with its beer so that it is recognizable.”
So what is the best glass to drink beer from? Both beer sommeliers agree that the best beer glass is actually a large wine glass with a generous bowl and a narrow top. It doesn’t matter which beer you’re drinking; you taste and smell the most with a glass like that. So you can definitely use those wine glasses in your cupboard.
