Craft Beer Glasses Guide: Why so Serious?

The art of brewing was known back in ancient Mesopotamia, around 3500 - 2900 BC! Today beer is a special, noble and refined drink, with a great variety of styles, flavors and aroma tints and moreover, extremely popular throughout the world.

There is no doubt that beer degustation has its own traditions. In the classical sense, the culture of craft beer drinking requires consideration of such nuances as a certain temperature of the drink, the correct angle of filling the glass, the quality snack. But the most important item - beer like no other drink depends on the way it is served. Therefore, a key role is played by properly selected tableware, the characteristics of which allow revealing the taste and aroma of the famous richly hopped drink in the best way.

Perhaps there is no other beverage for which such amount of drinkware would be developed: mugs, glasses of different kinds, pilsners, pints, steins. The glass from which you drink beer is one of the examples of your education and upbringing in craft beer culture.

The majority of people don’t even suspect that the taste of beer depends not only on its kind and brand. For sure, many noticed that beer from the bottle is very different from the same beer, which is served in a bar in glasses. Why is this happening?

Beer glasses have a direct effect on the perception of flavor and smell of a foamy drink. Moreover, the same beer poured into glasses of different shapes has a different smell intensity, different foaming and foam resistance.

Of course theoretically beer can be drunk from any tare, but in order to feel the aromas and flavors we experience with beer fully, it is important to choose the right glasses.

Let’s consider why it is so important. The foam created by pouring beer lets through volatile compounds that evaporate from it and create its aroma, such as hops oil, fruit esters, spices and other additives. Thus, a properly selected beer glass helps to get so called “beer cap”. And the longer it keeps the more delicious and aromatic your beer would be. And since different beer sorts have the different beer cap levels, respectively, it is optimal to use various types of glasses. If the beer glass is chosen improperly, the main taste would be distorted and a subtle shade won’t appear at all.

It is known that true gourmets enjoy beer from glass mugs. First of all, the advantage of glass is that you see what you are drinking. You have the ability to estimate the color, the amount of bubbles, the presence of sediment and the height of the foam. For example, drinking from ceramic glasses deprives such opportunities. 

Therefore, there is no doubt that craft beer can be appreciated solely when it is poured into a glass. Only such type of drinkware allows you to enjoy its color and aroma fully, which are the same important evaluation criteria in forming the overall impression of beer, as well as its taste.

So, it can be concluded that correctly selected beer glass turns the degustation of a foamy drink into an exquisite ritual and helps to experience the flavor fully.

Whatever kind of beer you prefer, Luigi Bormioli Birrateque Collection you the variety of glasses for craft beer. Each glass helps to reveal your drink maximally and its bouquet would play with all possible shades. You would be surprised, but with the right presentation, your seemingly familiar beer would show fruit, hop, and malty taste, coffee, licorice and toast aftertaste.

Let every tasting of craft beer bring you wonderful emotions, and Luigi Bormioli would take care of suitable glasses!

Luigi Bormioli, the designer label of glassmaking, is synonymous with Italian Lifestyle. Our proprietary glassware formulas allow for an exciting fusion of elegance and technology.  Designed to enhance the tabletop and elevate the entertaining experience, these machine blown glasses are made in Italy, lead-free, durable, have laser cut fine rims, and will maintain their clarity after thousands of dishwashing cycles. You will enjoy their quality, brilliance, and strength for many years to come.