By Greg B. Like with wine, different styles of glassware are designed to show off different aspects of a beer. This post will take you through some of the basic guidelines of how to pour beer for yourself and for others, and how to select glassware that will accent the aspects of the beer you want to try.

If you stop and think about it, if there was no need for particular types of glassware to show off any part of a beer, or if they didn’t effectively show off aspects of different beers better, humans would never have invented them, let alone continue to use them appropriately. Go into any bar and order a stout, lager, wheat beer or pilsner and you are likely to get them in different glasses. Why? After all, it is just beer right? Well, for cheap beers like coors, miller, schlitz or even Natty Boh (for us Baltimore folk), different glassware may not significantly improve any aspect of these beers. But for craft beers, a lot of thought and time went into planning a recipe that usually has flavor profiles that work well together, but every beer has a particular aspect that it wants to show off. Proper glassware will help you show off that characteristic of that beer (keep this in mind, there are so many varieties and styles and variations of beer, that there are not absolute, hard and fast rules regarding what glass to pour what beer into. Once you know what the glassware does, you’ll be left to judge for yourself how to show off a beer, or even how to best show off your own beer!).

Pilsners: Think about what it is in a pilsner that you want to drink. It’s light in color and body, it’s highly carbonated, it’s slightly bitter and with a steady aromatic profile. All together, it’s refreshing. The most prominent way to display these characteristics is in a tall, ‘V” shaped glass. The force of beer pushing down upon more beer below it (more so in a tall glass versus a tulip glass or pint glass…. and you didn’t think that physics knowledge from high school would help you!) allows this beer to show off it’s ‘assertive carbonation’ by effectively forcing the CO2 from the liquid. This will also help perpetuate the head of the pilsner, and give a nice expression of it’s aromatics. Choose tall thin pilsner glassware for Pilsners. (It’s not a mistake it’s called a Pilsner glass for nothing!). I like these very well chilled, around 45F is a good serving temperature. Ideas for beers to try: Pilsner Urquel, Clipper City Uber Pils, Warsteiner premium Verum.

Lagers: What is it about a lager that you like? Think of it for a second…. It’s that crisp, cold bite it has on that first sip, and hopefully, the last sip. Lagers are brewed at especially cool temperatures by special yeast and are great beverages to drink during the summer time. Most of the American mass-produced beers are lagers, or were lagers in origin 150 years ago. You’ll want something that can keep this beer cold, and what works better for that than a chilled thick glass mug with a handle? The handle will keep you body heat away from the beer itself, and the thick glass acts as basically a heat-sink, letting the beer stay colder for longer. If you have access to one of the really old school glass mugs, with the faucets and grooves on the sides (you’ve seen them, they look like a small barrel of sorts), use that. The facets/grooves allow more surface area for the cold beer to come in contact with the cold glass and keep everything cold! Choose thick, handled, chilled mugs for Lagers (if these are not accessible, a thick, faceted pint glass will work nicely too!). Same as the pilsner, these beers need to be chilled heavily, and recommended serving temp is around 45F. Good lagers include Brooklyn Lager, Marzen /oktoberfest beers.

Wheats: Why would you drink a wheat beer? You probably drink it because it is easy drinking, light, very tasty, has a nice aroma and flavor, is great chilled and is very refreshing in the summertime, but with more ‘flavor’ refreshing than the more crisp style of a lager or pilsner. So, with all these things in mind, what kind of glass would you serve this beer in? Well, wheat beers normally are cloudy and have very bright, brilliant colors, a large head that normally will have some Belgian lace and express really nice fruity or spicy aromas. So, you’ll want a glass that is tall, so the beer can show off some carbonation but also show off it’s color and the cloudy nature, as well as give it room for a nice amount of head. But because the aromatics are a big part of this beer, you’ll want a glass that is curved at the top, so it traps the volatile aromatics as the beer is drunk, and at the top gives a good amount of surface-to-air exposure, so you can really smell how good this beer is before you drink it. (oh, and yes, I do recommend really taking time to smell and enjoy your beer, but more on that in another post). So with all this in mind, you’ll want a tall and curved glass for when you drink Wheat Beers. Though people like to serve these chilled, because they are usually very complex you don’t want to chill too cold and serve, as this will mask the flavors/aromas. Serve in the 50F range, maybe slightly lower. For classic wheat beers, check out Franziskaner, Weihenstephaner, and Ayinger Brau Weisse

Ales: The story gets a little more complicated with ales. This really is a giant category, and if you are determining beer styles by the yeast used, then ‘top-fermenting’ ale yeast means that pilsner, Belgian beers, stouts and porters are in the same class as pale ales and India pale ales! But for now, lets just consider an Ale something in color from light straw to a dark amber/copper color, top fermented and with fruity aromas… for simplicity sake! There also is some debate on how to serve an ale. In places like England and the West Coast of the US, ales are served in pint glasses. But in a smattering of other places, ales can also be served in a tulip glass. There is a matter of debate, and a quick survey of the internet leads to no solid conclusions, so this will be a matter of preference. But again, take a moment and think… why are you drinking this ale? Ales can be classified into a few categories, but all of them involve a nice aroma being a key ingredient. Pale ales have a nice light, fruity component, India Pale ales have a strong, unruly fruity or piney aroma and even traditional bitter ales or brown ales have nice fruity esters and aromas produced by the yeast used. In order to really get a nice expression of these volatile aromatics, I’d recommend serving ales in a tulip glass if possible, but a pint glass will work in a pinch. Best served chilled, 50F+ or so. For a variety of Ales, look for: Dogfish Head 60 min IPA, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and Bells Best Brown Ale

Stouts & Porters: Among my favorite beer styles. I love the smell and taste of dark roasted malts, some with the fruity esters others with toasted malt and still others with sweeter aromas and flavors. These beers also tend to have nice, thick heads and have great texture and mouthfeel. If you doubt this, just try an oatmeal stout that has some of the grist still in it, and I guarantee you’ll be amazed at the texture that a liquid can have. For this beer, I recommend you’re normal, average, every day pint glass. I think these glasses (you may want to invest in an imperial pint glass at some point too, you’ll see why in a second) give you space for the beer to be poured, give ample space for the head to foam up, and if they are clear, no faceted or to twisted, give you a window to a view of the beauty of the stout. Does it have a white, off-white, or tan head? Is the beer only dark enough to look nice and brown, or is it pitch black? How does the lacing look, if there is any? And the wide top gives you that nice surface area/air ratio, so when you go to sip your beer, you can really experience the great array of dark and toasted malts in the beer. Serve stouts in pint, imperial pint if possible, glasses. These beers are great slightly warm, even cellar temperature. Serve 50 to 55F and watch the aromas change as it warms. Check out Clipper City’s Peg Leg stout, North Coast Brewing Company’s Old Rasputin, Mackeson stout for Milk Stout styles and Rouge Ale’s Chocolate Stout.

Belgians: This list keeps getting trickier and trickier! There are something like 550 normal, every day produced types of beer in Belgium, and that number is not counting whatever speciality brews those brewmaster’s cook up, from the 150 or so breweries! Think Dogfish Head brewery, but on steroids. It is impossible to give you a list of the appropriate glassware for each type of beer, and many of the breweries have special glassware designed for particular types of beer they make! While this may seem extravagant, I think it really highlights how much thought goes into not just the production of the beer, but the creativity and desire to demonstrate particular aspects of a brew that someone worked so hard to create. This being said, the Belgian beers are generally heavily carbonated, but are also high in proteins and other things in the beer. This produces a giant head, and hence, the Belgian ‘lace’, on the side of the glass when this head recedes. Such a beer would not do well, generally, in a pilsner glass, simply because the pour would give you a massive, vertical foamy beer. The best way, in general, is to pour into a tulip glass. This allows the beer to give off this giant head, while not having it create too much foam, and it gives you the drinker a wide area to smell and enjoy. Belgian ales are extremely varied, in malts, hops, yeasts and spices, so it is wise to really sit and enjoy the aroma, to take it all in and try to determine the overall character of this beer. W ide topped tulip glasses are, in general, best for Belgian ales, but ideally you should use the particular glassware for each particular beer (given unlimited financial resources, as well as space for storage!). With so many aromas, you don’t want to miss any! Serve these beers, 55-60F. Look for Chimay (any), Westmalle, Ommegang & Allagash Belgian styled beers… or any Belgian beer, to be honest!

Lambics: Another typical Belgian beer, but one that should be served in a different glass than it’s cousins, the abbey ales and other ales. Fermented by naturally occurring, spontaneous fermentation these beers typically have a very dry taste (since the many natural yeast around ferment all the sugars!) and a robust carbonation. They sometimes can produce a prodigious amount of head, but most likely it will be fast receding and not really present. So, small glasses, with thin elegant glass, that are tall and thin, but not necessarily as tall as a pilsner glass, work nicely. They let the beer show off it’s natural big carbonation, and let you sample the crisp, dry flavors of these wild beers! I like these beer chilled, the crisp, tart, sour and cold temp is a great combination. Serve around 50F, maybe slightly lower and see how the aromas change as it warms. Look for Lindeman’s gueuze cuve Rene, Cantillion Lambic and Kriek, oud Gueuze, or even Lindeman’s Framboise Lambic

Barley wines & other Very strong alcohol/flavor/aroma beers: Some beers are intense. It’s just the nature of them. For these, which usually feature strong alcohol flavors but also equally strong malts, spices or even sometimes aging techniques in oak, combined with the previous qualities, I recommend a brandy snifter glass. The shape of this glass traps the aromas that are escaping from the beer, and when you stick your nose down in there, really let you get at the smell of the beer you’re about to drink. Swirling of these beers is also recommended, much like with wine or brandy or bourbon or scotch… you really want to get those aromatics out of the beverage and into your nose. Depending on the beer, but overall, serve this warmer. 55F+ is a good idea for these beers. Check out Clipper City’s Below Decks (even the Hang Ten for this… I love the smell of this beer), Great Divide’s Old Ruffian, and Olde School from Dogfish Head