The Best Beer Glasses in 2022

Step inside and saddle as much as the bar of any brewery, taproom, or pub, and your beverage of alternative will all the time arrive in an applicable vessel. Serving every beer in the appropriate form of glassware—even when solely essentially the most versatile pint glass—is a vital a part of the general tasting expertise. Take it from Firestone Walker’s brewmaster Matt Brynildson, who says earlier than we even take that first sip, we’re already ingesting the brew in with our eyes, instantly noticing the colour and billions upon billions of bubbles. “Not like nonetheless wine, beer possesses the effervescence of carbonation, and nice beer has a gorgeous, long-lasting foam,” he explains, which is why the most effective beer glasses are roomy sufficient for the fizz to carry and maintain up a pour’s frothy head the place all of the aromatics reside.
Being served the most effective beer glass from the specialists versus stocking up your individual dwelling bar, nonetheless, generally is a bit difficult, particularly when you get thinking about the entire choices accessible as we speak. In recent times, the craft beer scene has roughly exploded, and the proof could be present in your native grocery retailer, which probably expanded from a fridge of traditional, mainstream lagers, to native ales and all kinds of loopy mixtures like fruit and spice beers to barrel-aged barleywines. No matter you do, don’t stress—whereas pouring the right pint ought to have all of the theatrics customary to the wine world, in accordance with Brynildson, many of the greatest beer glasses are versatile sufficient to help a variety of kinds versus only a single selection. That’s why our record beneath spotlights versatile picks really useful by a couple of of the business’s skilled makers and tasters.

Our High Picks

Finest for Lagers and IPAs: Willi Becher Tumbler Glass

Capability: 16 ounces | Model: Pint | Dishwasher-Secure: Sure 

Why we selected it: For on a regular basis enjoyment, that is leaps and bounds higher than a boring shaker. 

A must have, go-to glass of each taprooms (you’ll see it at Firestone Walker areas and Heater Allen, an Oregon-based brewery specializing in lager beers) and residential bars, the Willi Becher is a traditional, German possibility. “This can be a very customary glass that lots of breweries and taprooms use as a result of it’s a nice, all-around glass that’s far superior for smelling and tasting beer than the ever present shaker pint,” shares Lisa Allen, head brewer at Heater Allen. “We’ve got a 100mL line on our Willi Bechers that we pour samples to, which permits the taster to truly get their nostril within the glass and scent the beer.” Specialists additionally word it’s a stable glass appropriate for hazy IPAs, Pale Ales, English-style Ales, Brown Ales, and extra.

Finest for Stouts: Libbey Craft Brew Glass 

Capability: 16 ounces | Model: Tulip | Dishwasher-Secure: Sure 

Why we selected it: For bolded-bodied stouts.

For family and friends, Billy Garza, a brewer of Weathered Souls Brewing Co.—based by head brewer Marcus Baskerville in San Antonio, Texas—recommends a snifter for stouts. The broad, rounded type of this glass is good for letting barrel-aged and blended stouts, just like the Anniversary Beer (with a 14.5 % ABV), breathe. “The form and open mouth actually allow you to respect the extraordinary notes present in these kinds,” provides Garza, whether or not it’s one thing candy and creamy like chocolate and occasional, or a bit extra sturdy, to detect the nutty notes of what’s usually a really darkish and really dense beer. Lighter stouts, however (like Guinness), could be poured into an everyday outdated pint glass, such because the nonic pint beneath.

Finest for Traditional Ales: Nonic Beer Pint Glass 

Capability: 20 ounces | Model: Pint | Dishwasher-Secure: Sure 

Why we selected it: An iconic, svelte staple for all of your ales.

For pale ales, brown ales, and crimson ales, in addition to lighter stouts and porters, the nonic pint glass is your greatest wager. Just like a shaker, the bulged silhouette close to the top is nearly synonymous with English pubs, however is best at capturing a beer’s aroma, even American IPAs. It’s the glass of alternative for all of Firestone Walker’s traditional ales, together with its malty flagship Double Barrel Ale. Garza additionally pours easy Irish stouts and roast-y porters right into a nonic pint. Whereas the form captures taste fairly effectively, it additionally serves an extremely sensible objective: it’s simpler to lose your grip on a slippery shaker than a bulbous nonic pint, which is less complicated to carry and fewer more likely to break (or get nicked, therefore the title) from a tumble.

Finest for Sours: Rastal Harmony Tumbler 

Capability: 13.5 ounces | Model: Stemless | Dishwasher-Secure: No 

Why we selected it: A glass that does double responsibility, however with a slender sufficient prime to catch all of the complexities of a soured beer.

Whereas all beers are hiding nuanced flavors, sours can come off as significantly advanced. Bitter beers, generally made with Berliner weisse or a gose, are sometimes related to being as tart as sipping on grapefruit juice, however may also be softened with honey and spices, even taking up a smoothie-like weight and style. With a fame for whipping up fruited sours, Talea, a female-founded brewery in Brooklyn, New York, sticks to the slender opening of Rastal Concord stemless wine glasses when shelling out flights. “It’s a multi-purpose glass initially designed for wine however we find it irresistible for our beers,” explains co-founder Tara Hankinson. “The tapered prime concentrates aromas and the intense crystal exhibits off our colourful fruited sours. The glass is light-weight however very sturdy for our high-volume taproom. Whereas we love stemmed glasses for his or her class and conserving your beer cool, they aren’t sensible for carrying a number of at a time.”

Finest for Specialty Brews: Spiegelau Tulip Glass

Capability: 15.5 ounces | Model: Tulip | Dishwasher-Secure: No 

Why we selected it: Appears like a high-end wine glass; rely on it for when the ABV passes single digits.

That is for the specialty beers—suppose double IPAs, imperial stouts, saisons, honey meads, and fancy fruit beers, even a couple of Belgian kinds—that pack a punch. The stem allows an excellent swirl to actually launch the aromatics and the readability of the glass ensures any beer is introduced fantastically. It’s a private favourite of many brewers we spoke with, together with Jordan Gardenhire, founding father of Baja Brewing, the unique craft beer of Los Cabos Baja. Whereas this explicit choose is a bit larger than Gardenhire’s most well-liked 12 ounces, the flared prime is what’s key. “It helps maintain a pleasant head, but additionally sports activities an aroma-catching physique,” Gardenhire continues. “It’s sturdy and aesthetically can actually be used for nearly any beer, for my part.”

Finest for The entire Above: Rastal Teku Stemmed Beer Glass 

Capability: 14 ounces | Model: Tulip | Dishwasher-Secure: No 

Why we selected it: Really feel like a beer aficionado, it doesn’t matter what can or bottle you’re pouring.

Described as having a chimney-shaped bowl, the Teku beer glass is a common individuals pleaser. It brings collectively all the most effective options of a beer glass—a curved, rounded physique, a slender, flared, and thin-rimmed mouth to assist detect each aroma, and a sturdy, sturdy, but elegant stem longer than your typical tulip to maintain your fingers off the glass and your beer cool. It’s a design that guarantees to make your beer scent and therein style higher. If you wish to actually analyze the style of your beer, you possibly can’t go fallacious with a Teku type, particularly this nucleated model with an etched backside to higher retain carbonation.

We Additionally Like

• Dimpled mugs and solid steins aren’t only for beer gardens and Oktoberfest—they’re utilized by quite a few taprooms to serve lagers and lighter ales of every kind. Hold your grip on the deal with, and also you gained’t have to fret about your palm warming up your drink.  
• In the event you’re seeking to pour your IPA in one thing slightly completely different, Spieglau’s 18-ounce glass with a rippled, stem-like backside is nice for exhibiting off hop-forward brews. Created in collaboration with Sierra Nevada’s Ken Grossman and Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione, this form is hoping to come back onto the scene as the brand new customary. 
• Brynildson by no means hesitates to tug out his Zalto wine glasses for extra-special pours, whether or not it’s a extremely carbonated, conditioned Saison, a fancy IPA, or a malty, old-world English Bitter. “They current the flavors and aromas effectively, simply as they do for wine. I desire the much less bowl-like, taller shapes that maintain foam higher, however nonetheless permit you to swirl and produce the aromas into the headspace, so white wine glasses work effectively,” he explains, although provides the corporate not too long ago launched a beer-specific glass that matches the invoice, too. 
• An Omar Becher is the form of glass that you just’re extra more likely to see abroad in Belgium’s brown pubs, serving saisons and pilsners, because the small glass is flexible for the nation’s vary of the sunshine bodied to the funky, and is a particular addition to Brynildosn’s private assortment. “I’ve been informed that the ribs had been constructed into the glass to maintain your hand from warming the beer inside,” he shares.
• Ever been to Cologne, Germany? Then you definitely’ll acknowledge the slender silhouette of a Rastal Kolsch Tumbler. Impress your visitors with this uncommon form designed to particularly maintain small, recurring pours of the area’s gentle and crisp delight, Kölsch. However Bryndilson enjoys different zippy beers in it too, like Helles and pilsners.

How We Selected These Merchandise 

To place collectively our record of the most effective beer glasses, we consulted the specialists—brewmasters, brew fingers, tasters, and writers—and requested each what their companies use to serve their drinks in, and what they’ve added to their very own assortment at dwelling. Fortunately, almost all of their picks are versatile, appropriate to quite a lot of beers versus only one type.

Options to Hold in Thoughts When Looking for Beer Glasses

Varieties of Beer Glasses 

Immediately, there’s a glass and form for each sort of craft brew—some specialists even argue that relying on the kind of IPA you’ll want a distinct form (a hazy, American-style IPA is suited simply wonderful to a nonic pint, however for bolder doubles or imperials with the next ABV, a rounded goblet-like tulip is greatest). The most well-liked glasses you ought to be accustomed to embrace: 

• Pint: The traditional, American pint glass is easy and doubtless the form you’re most accustomed to—it’s often 16 ounces and contains a wider mouth that tapers to a slender backside. Reasonably priced and simple to wash, it’s the glass most continuously seen at eating places. However the specialists we spoke to desire the bigger, English model—in any other case often called a nonic pint—particularly if taste is what you’re after. It has the identical tapered look, however with a bubbled prime, that not solely makes it simpler to stack and maintain, however caresses the aroma of your beer versus letting it fizz out. 
• Mug: A mug is often a beer glass with a deal with, or the extra conventional, thick-walled German stein, each of that are nice at conserving your brew cool. It’s often characterised by a dimpled physique or a thick silhouette that’s sorta rectangular in nature. 
• Tulip: Just like a goblet, the tulip glass has origins in Belgian beers and is outlined by its squat stem and curved, broad sides that mimic the very flower it’s named after (additionally a widely known Belgian import). Most embrace a flared rim for a extra concentrated launch of smells. Related iterations embrace a snifter, extra popularly used to serve brandy, for a similar bulbous physique, and the thistle, which is the Scottish equal. They arrive in a variety of sizes, from a typical 16-ounce pint to a small, 5-ounce taster. 
• Weizen: Usually 20 ounces, a Weizen glass is for wheat beers, like a Hefeweizen, therefore the thick, bulbous prime however tall peak and slender center. Whereas it does have the identical feel and appear to it as a pilsner glass, it’s not the identical (plus, pilsners aren’t all the time served in a lofty, slender type, but additionally are available in a stemmed model, too). 

Although, right here’s the factor—almost everybody we spoke to agrees you don’t must amass the entire above. Simply spend money on the kinds that you just love and luxuriate in essentially the most at dwelling. The opposite caveat? “Lots of it’s simply advertising and marketing,” author Justin Kennedy tells us. “Nobody actually wants an IPA-, stout-, or hefeweizen-specific glass. I desire only a few forms of glasses for all my beer: a plain stemmed wine glass for saisons and powerful beers, a dimpled mug for lagers, and a Willi Becher pint for English-style ales and IPAs. In the event you solely wish to purchase one beer glass, make it the Spiegelau Stemmed Pilsner Glass—it’s almost excellent for any type.”

Form and Measurement 

The most important takeaway when looking for a beer glass is its tapered, bubbled, or bowl-like form. It’s not only for aesthetics—although you could possibly discover that pouring the identical beer in a tall, slender glass versus a smaller, stouter one, will seem darker within the latter. That is particularly completed to pay attention aromas for an total extra fulfilling tasting expertise as a result of smelling actually is necessary; get an excellent whiff earlier than you are taking a sip. 

“Glass measurement and form affect aroma and style by serving to to accent and promote sure qualities of a selected beer. Similar to with wine, sure beer glass shapes are geared towards sure beer kinds,” shares Allen. “When the correct glass is used it would assist deliver out the delicate aromas and flavors in a beer. Ingesting out of the correct glassware can elevate a beer ingesting expertise and present the extra nuanced facets of a beer.” 

Manufacturers

You could have observed that a couple of manufacturers seem greater than as soon as for our prime picks and common favorites, chief amongst them are Rastal, Libbey, and Spieglau. Designed in Germany, Rastal is understood for its trendy vary of drinkware; Libbey is an American firm that’s been round because the early 1800s; and Spieglau is even older (we’re speaking 500 years), providing almost each type of beer glassware you should buy. 

Uniqueness and Customization

Consider discovering the most effective beer glasses like placing collectively a group of souvenirs. “Not like snobby winos, beer individuals worth eclecticism and originality in each the product we drink and the glassware we use,” argues Gardenhire. “Brewpubs usually have improbable glasses on the market that may be enjoyable for you and your visitors. Assume extra faculty, much less cribbage.” 

Upkeep 

A tip from the professionals: Rinse your glass down earlier than and after you drink. “Like they do on the bar with upside-down jet spray,” Kennedy factors out. It’ll take away any mud, filth, or lingering detergent residue. And for those who aren’t going to clean your glass as quickly as you’re completed, a fast wipe will work wonders in the long term. “Conserving your beer glass clear is of paramount significance,” provides Brynildson, who suggests skipping the dishwasher and sticking to heat soapy water. “An unclean beer glass will lead to bubbles clinging beneath the liquid line and the froth will collapse shortly.”

Ask an Knowledgeable

Q: Does glassware really impression style? 

“Glassware impacts the tasting expertise of beer immensely, simply because it does for wine,” shares Brynildson. That’s why there are such a lot of variations and shapes to select from, and people particularly designed to serve a single type of beer, like an extra-tall footed pilsner, which greatest exhibits off the beer’s readability. And for those who’ve ever indulged in a flight of beer at a brewery, even the smaller glasses are designed to seize the essence of the pour. For tasters, Firestone prefers to make use of the Glencairn whisky glass, however you’re extra more likely to come throughout small-scale tulips that maintain round 5 ounces. 

Q: Is it higher to go along with skinny or thick glass? 

This actually is determined by private desire, or simply how dainty you wish to be when ingesting your beer. Skinny, light-weight glass, although beautiful to have a look at, is much less more likely to maintain up after time. “I’ve damaged so many glasses from simply being in my cupboards that I now search for thick glasses,” suggests Garza. “I don’t wish to be cautious when having fun with my beers or cleansing after.” 

And whereas Kennedy prefers the texture of a skinny glass, for those who’re susceptible to breaking them, investing in a single generally is a waste; a thicker glass is extra more likely to final a lifetime. “You’re sacrificing thinness and class, however in the long run, it’s simply beer,” Kennedy notes. “The costliest beer you’re going to drink might be within the dozens of {dollars} vary, anyway, so there’s actually no must splurge on fancy glassware.” 

Q: What’s the typical pour of beer? 

The traditional pint, in accordance with Gardenhire, is 16 ounces. Correctly pouring stated beer, nonetheless, is all about gusto. You wish to launch the carbonation, not cover it, opposite to fashionable perception. To create that foamy head, begin by pouring right into a tilted glass at a 45-degree angle, after which about midway by means of, gently deliver it upright. 

“A correct pour is crucial as you wish to ensure that there’s sufficient head on the beer to lure the aroma, which can make that first scent and sip the most effective,” Gardenhire provides. “As you drink down the pint, some head can stay, conserving a few of the aroma round all through the beer. However the first sip is the most effective, so take all of it in.” 

Our Take

“On the finish of the day, ingesting is a sensory expertise, and experiencing the visible identification of your beverage is vital,” stresses Harkinson, who recommends investing in glassware you’re keen on. One of the best beer glasses, in different phrases, could make each can or bottle an important day. 

Each product is independently chosen and vetted by editors. Stuff you purchase by means of our hyperlinks might earn us a fee.