The EBeerSnob Question of the Week

Does it matter what kind of glass a beer is served in?

Related to the following article in this week's Official Size & Weight EBeer ENews EMail

to receive, email John@EBeerSnob.Com








Prescription Glasses

As I’ve promised over the past few weeks, I’ll be doing a series of articles in the next few issues about the different vessels that beer is enjoyed in. Does it really matter? We’ll try to decide as we go along. Here’s the first in the series…

The Flute

This glass is a long, tall, slender glass with a narrow opening at the top. It has a two-fold purpose. Structurally it is designed to retain carbonation and freshness by reducing the surface area exposed to air. Secondly its tall narrow design shows off the beauty of the beverage by displaying it vertically where the carbonation can travel the maximum distance giving a nice long upward visual. A lesser-known benefit is that the server can carry more of them on a standard sized tray. Perhaps the nicest part for beer drinkers is that the long verticality of the Flute really shows off the pattern left behind as the beer is consumed.

The Flute is best for beers and sparkling wines wherein the center characteristic you want to showcase is the carbonation, particularly if that carbonation releases a desirable smell. This glass is designed to preserve and display the strong points in these types of beverages. The biggest difference in a Flute designed for sparkling wine and one designed for beer is that the wine version is more likely to have a stem. The stem allows the drinker to hold the glass without the transformation of temperature. One’s fingers stay warm and the beverage stays cold. The non-stemmed version is built for volume, so the vessel’s capacity is utilized all the way to the bottom. Beer drinkers aren’t afraid to wear gloves if it means there will be more beer to enjoy. Also, fine beers often do not rely on the temperature to retain (or often to disguise) their flavor. Therefore the transformation of temperature is not such a bad thing. They are otherwise quite interchangeable. I regularly drink beer in wine glasses.

Nucleation is a term used to describe the formation of the carbonated bubbles. Nucleation, once understood, can be manipulated through changes in the design of the glass, particularly the lower surface. The smoother the glass the slower the bubbles release, and therefore the longer the bubbly lasts. The more microscopic imperfections on the glass surface, the more quickly the nucleation occurs. Some glasses are intentionally and minutely etched to create an intentional bubble flow. This etching at the bottom assures that the nucleation will start there and flow the full length of the glass, giving it its most appealing visual effect.

The most common beer for this glass is the Lambic styles, including Kriek and Gueuze, the latter of which is nicknamed Brussels Champagne. This style of beer derives from the use of stale hops and the most primitive of yeasts, uncultured and wild, which naturally occur in the air, particularly in Belgium. Where in the United States beer production is highly controlled and sanitary, in Belgium the brewers often just take the top off of the unfermented wort and fling open the windows and let nature take its course. In the Gueuze style, older beer is mixed with younger beer and fermented again. In all of these styles the beer ends up wildly carbonated, particularly when added sugars come into play, which is common in these recipes.

This design of glass also works nicely for most all of the thirst quenching styles of beers. Fine Pilsners do particularly well in this glass as it keeps the beer nice and frothy and shows off the pretty golden color. In any event it is a pretty glass and gives a stylish look to most any place setting. It gives a smart, modern look (non-stemmed) or classical look (stemmed) to the presentation and I doubt that it would hurt the flavor of any beer.