Choosing Glassware
As I have written before, I cannot stress enough the benefits of drinking your brew of choice from a glass. The next question is: Which glass? To be honest, I’ve read a lot about this and it’s not always an easy answer. I’ve covered a few types here, but being that there are such a huge variety of brews, there is appropriately enough, a huge variety of glassware.
20 oz (591 ml)
The Nonic or Nonik Pint Glass, also goes by the name English Pub Glass.
The nonic pint has a narrow base similar to a traditional pint. The difference comes as you move up the glass, the nonic pint widens. Just a few centimeters below the lip, the nonic pint features a slight bulge. The nonic bulge is significant in that it provides durability to the glass, reducing the risk of chipping when stacking with other pints.
The nonic pint is an excellent go-to brew glass for ales and lagers.
16-20 oz (473.2-591 ml)
The Willi Becher (also known as Willybecher) glass was named for its designer, it is also known as the German Pub Glass. While it has a similar shape to the shaker pint, it has a slight curve inward at the rim. This helps greatly with head retention, in turn allowing the drinker more time to take in the brew’s aroma. The height of the glass is similar to the Pilsner, allowing for color and clarity in visibility.
The Willi Becher glass is perfect for most German Style lagers, but can be used for everything from hazy IPAs to Pilsners to stouts!
most commonly 16 oz (473 ml)
Like the Nonic, the Shaker pint is generally very durable and stackable, though it lacks the signature “bulge” of the nonic. This makes the shaker pint perfect for bars and tasting rooms. This pint actually originated as a “shaker” for mixing cocktails. While handy and tough, the shaker pint is not ideal for helping a brew enthusiast pull flavor notes and aromas trapped in brew bouquets.
The shaker pint does, however, make a great souvenir from your favorite brewery or bar.
15.25 oz (451 ml)
The Pilsner glass has a beautiful shape designed to optimize the consumption of the clean, crisp, pilsner lager. The pilsner glass has a tall, often slender form with a wider mouth leading down to the tapper at the base. The height of the pilsner glass truly allows for the brew lover to assess the golden intensity of the beverage. The wider mouth of the glass will help to maintain a healthy head, optimal for most pale lagers with ample carbonation.
The pilsner glass is a great go-to for not only pilsner lagers, but blonde ales, and hefeweizens as well.
14.75 oz (436 ml)
The stemmed Stout glass is sometimes referred to as the beer snifter, though this example has a more vertical mouth with little curve inward. The tulip shape is not only pretty, but helps to retain the head along with the aromas of the brew. The stem is not only perfect for keeping the brew cold, by minimizing heat transfer from the drinker’s hand, but allows for the drinker to swirl their beverage releasing those hidden fragrances, which otherwise may be missed.
This style of glass is great for any strong and dark ales with complex flavor notes including porters, Scotch ales, fruit lambic, and imperial stouts.
Belgian Ale Glass
16-16.6 oz (473-491 ml)
The Belgian ale glass is a true stemmed tulip glass. The lip of a true tulip glass should flair outwards, allowing for the drinker to taste the head of the beverage. The shape, like many others, allows for head retention and aroma development, and the stem aids in keeping the brew cool.
The Belgian ale glass is not only perfect for Belgian ales, but is also great for double IPAs, Scotch ales, and even saisons.
For many, this is the go-to beer glass.
Wheat/Hefeweizen Glass
23 oz (680 ml)
The Hefeweizen glass has a beautiful shape, akin to a vase, and often has a heavy base and a tall slender middle, topped by a bulb to accommodate an ample head busting with aromas. The height of the glass is perfect for observing the color and clarity of the beverage. These glasses generally hold a larger volume compared to other beer glasses.
Many find the Hefeweizen glass not only pretty, but easy to hold. This glass is perfect for all wheat beers, dark or light.
