Beer has grown up a lot over the past couple of decades. Granted, when many adults sampled their first beer, it was “gold and cold” and served in a red Solo cup, so it had a lot of growing up to do. As craft beer evolved, so did the glassware. There is now a “proper” glass for almost every style of craft beer, each designed to showcase the unique qualities that define that style. The right glass can elevate the experience of enjoying a beer and honor the craft and quality ingredients that went into making it.
As Rebecca Safford, owner of Tap & Bottle and Westbound explained, “Glassware is part of the fun, part of the whole experience of making having a beer celebratory and festive.”
In this exploration of proper glassware, I’ll explain why such elaborate sculptural glassware is found in your favorite taprooms rather than suspended from the ceiling of the Bellagio. I’ll also reveal my favorite improper glasses for knocking back a brew without a lick of snobbery.
Traditional Proper Glassware
A few quaffs into the craft beer renaissance it became clear that a clunky shaker pint did not do justice to the fastidious craft of small-batch brewing. The feats of fermentation coming out of small breweries deserved better.
As Elyse Hammet, owner of Caps & Corks, explained, “If we are going to spend the time and effort to seek out quality, hard-to-find beer, we should respect the beer with proper glassware whenever possible.”
Before more versatile glassware options became available, anyone serving up craft beer needed to have access to an array of traditional glassware, each designed to celebrate and showcase a specific style of brew.
Pilsner and Wheat Beer Glasses
These types of glasses are tall and thin to show off the bright golden color of these styles of beer, and to create a thick layer of fluffy foam at the surface.
Beer mugs/steins
These have thick glass walls to keep large quantities of low-ABV beer cold for the extended time it takes to consume a larger pour.
Goblets & Taller Teardrop-shaped Belgian Glasses
Belgian beers are best served in rounded goblets or taller teardrop-shaped Belgian glasses. The large, rounded bowl and inward-tapering rims of these glasses capture the rich flavors and subtle aromatics often produced by Belgian or wheat beer yeast strains (examples: banana, clove, and perfumey orange).
Teardrop-shaped Belgian glasses are also great for IPAs, as they funnel floral hoppy notes right to the drinker’s nose.
Boozy stouts are best served in rounded goblets, which concentrate and deliver notes of whiskey, wood, and vanilla.
Where to experience traditional proper glassware:
- Tap & Bottle, Tucson Hop Shop, Pueblo Vida Brewing Company, Button Brew House, Dragoon Brewing Company, Crooked Tooth Brewing Company, Craft, A Modern Drinkery, Caps & Corks, Arizona Beer House, and many more.
Too many glasses to choose from? Innovate!
The Teku
The Italian-designed Teku is thought to be one of the finest craft beer glasses currently available. It was created to be versatile enough for any style of craft beer, replacing a cabinet full of style-specific glasses. With angular curves like a classic car, the Teku couldn’t be further from a clunky shaker pint. If you haven’t enjoyed a craft beer out of this sophisticated chalice, some would say you haven’t truly enjoyed a craft beer.
Defining features of the Teku:
- Long stem to limit contact between warm hands and cold beer
- The thin flared rim enhances mouthfeel and eases sipping
- Wide center bowl so the head of the beer has plenty of surface area to stretch out, releasing a more delicious aroma
- Angular, tulip-shaped upper body that funnels volatilized aromas from the foam to the drinker’s nose, providing a concentrated whiff of hops, toffee, oak, or smoke, depending on the brew
Where to experience the Rastal Teku
- Ermanos Bar
The Craftmaster Series
The Craftmaster series takes notes from the Teku in form and function but does so in a more relaxed, pub-style glass.
- The Craftmaster One features the same angular tulip-shaped body and thin flared lip as the Teku, thus providing an aroma-bathed tasting experience. This glass replaces the thin stem of a Teku with a wide, durable base.
- The Craftmaster Two is more streamlined with the zig-zagging angles of the Craftmaster style smoothed out into the shape of a classic English pub glass. The wide bowl and discretely flared lip still concentrate those volatilized aromatics, making the Craftmaster Two a versatile yet sophisticated answer to the shaker pint.
- The Craftmaster Grand is the flashiest member of the Craftmaster family, featuring an exaggerated bowl (aromatics aloft) and a conspicuously flared lip for easy drinking and tasting. It’s the most ergonomic of the Craftmaster series and boasts a benefit to barkeeps: stackability for easy storage.
Erika Button, co-owner of Button Brew House, described her thought process in choosing the Craftmaster Two for her brewery. “Ultimately we would love to put each beer style in a different glass, but that wouldn’t be cost-efficient,” she said. “The Craftmaster Two is economically affordable and has a great universal, unique shape that works with most beer styles.”
Where to experience the Craftmaster Series
- Craftmaster One is at Tucson Hop Shop
- Craftmaster Two is at Button Brew House
- Craftmaster Grand is at Caps & Corks (for their tasting flights)
Non-Negotiables
Whatever vessel you use, you should still have standards. If you come across these nasty no-nos at your favorite bar, they either don’t have an appreciation for craft beer, or they may not like you. Take heed.
The Frozen Shaker Pint
The shaker pint was designed to be resistant to breakage, easy to clean, and stackable. We’re not exactly talking “Flavor Country” with these attributes. Pour a beer into a frozen shaker pint, and you can say goodbye to any of the nuanced flavors a brewery intended.
The cold temps stifle the volatilization of aromatics, making beer taste bland. Ice crystals on the surface of the glass not only lock in freezer smells but also cause the beer to foam when poured.
A Dirty Glass
When a bartender puts a beer in front of you, beware of tiny bubbles clinging to the interior sides of the glass. Bubbles cling to dirt, not glass, so the more clinging bubbles you see in a fresh pour, the more questionable the cleaning practices of the establishment.
This is not to be confused with lacing, which is when fine, lacy foam sticks to the inside of your beer glass after you have consumed it. Thin webs of lacing indicate that your chosen pub serves fresh, well-crafted beers in clean glasses, as both of these elements are required to create the lacing effect.
Never forget: Craft Beer Should be FUN
Thoughtfully sampling rare, cellared sours and stouts is a luxurious experience, but shotgunning a can of Arizona Wilderness Brewing’s gose in the woods is still pretty great (true story). My favorite “improper” glasses emphasize unbridled enjoyment, unencumbered by analysis, dissection, or pretension.
The Tumbler
The wide mouth, straight walls, and thin lip of a tumbler serve up great gratifying gulps of your favorite beers. When juicy, indulgent refreshment is your goal, the simple tumbler comes through.
Where to experience the tumbler:
Caps & Corks, Patagonia Lumber Company (Patagonia), and Wren House Brewing Company (Phoenix).
The Can Glass
It’s designed to replicate the shape and size of a 12-ounce can of beer. Thin glass and a flared lip make sipping and tasting effortless. Style points: the can glass provides a large surface for colorful printing, so they are often used as eye-catching merchandise items at craft beer bars and breweries.
You can purchase colorful can glasses at:
- Tucson Hop Shop and Tap & Bottle
Canning jars
Mason, Kerr, and Ball. Homesteader vibes. Totally improper, but perfect for a relaxed happy hour beer in the backyard. You can find canning jars at my house. Come on over.
A sweaty rugby cleat
Shoot the Boot! Shoot the boot! You can find antics like this at a rugby match. Do not try at home.
So, what have we learned today?
Now that we’ve gone down the rabbit hole of proper glassware, a little concession: If you’re enjoying your beer, none of it really matters. Cheers!
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