Sam Adams created a glass that they say enhances the beer. And then today I was on Pier 1's website looking for some cool beer glasses, and they have a Tasting Set that contains 6 glasses, each shaped differently, and each said to be for different styles of beer... which leads to my question.... does shape really effect the flavor? I don't see how it could....
Does glass shape REALLY enchance the flavor?
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JeepDiver
Well-Known Member
In short yes it does. A few things is it determines how the scent (which is a LARGE part of taste) is held, how quicklu the beer warms up, how the co2 comes out or stays in solution.
Spend some time in a good belgium bar where just about every beer has its on glass and you can see it.
That being said, most of my beer is drank out of a standard pint glass
Spend some time in a good belgium bar where just about every beer has its on glass and you can see it.
That being said, most of my beer is drank out of a standard pint glass
KYchemBrewer
Member
Great question. I know a Hefeweizen sure tastes amazing out of the traditional tall 0.5L glass. Allows the head to build up properly.
davekippen
Well-Known Member
Lots of science out there, I say grab a few glasses and pour the same beer in each. Give 'er a shot!
glasses are for sissies. I got one of them beer helmets that hold 5 gallon kegs. that's why I limit myself to only 2 beers a night.
I don't trust my blindfolded buddies to even be able to distinguish between an ale and a lager. Do you have any links for studies illustrating an experiment which disproves the glass shape affecting aroma phenomenon so many here claim as true?
IvanTheTerribrew
Well-Known Member
While I think it's cool to serve beers in different glasses, unless I see some really impressive studies, I have to agree with the group that says its psychological. Me myself I don't have amazing taste buds but I don't think I'd notice much difference in a blindfold test. If someone tells you a glass does "this" to a beer, you're more opt when you try that beer to think about "this".
BreezyBrew
IPA is my spirit animal
Personally, any beer I drink out of a wine shaped glass smells better. Well enhances the aromatics. They say most of what you taste is smell so I'd say it allows you to taste more of the spectrum of the beer.
But there are numerous accounts and a decent industry built around glass shapes affecting enjoyment of beverages. A look at the spirits industry will definitely show that beer is very behind the times when it comes to glass shape. I would be more inclined to believe precedent until I see a study showing otherwise.
If the beer tastes better, does it matter whether or not the effect is psychological?
Think about food being plated. A meal that has been plated well will always taste better than the exact same meal in a big mound. It's bringing another stimulus into the experience psychologically which enhances the flavour.
Maybe the shape of the glass doesn't directly enhance the flavour, but it will make the whole experience better. Your simply "plating" the beer.
freewheelan
Member
Without doubt using wine glasses lets you smell beer a lot better, which is at least part of the fun of drinking a good beer. If you're drinking megaswill lagers obviously there's no point.
BreezyBrew
IPA is my spirit animal
LOL so true
On the flip side of things, I think those beers taste better straight from the bottle.
plumber_bob
Well-Known Member
I feel like, 'Bubba', the beer drinker here! (I'm not referring to anyone here, in case someone uses that name).
I have 25oz heavy mugs, freeze them and them pour the beer right in. I love my beer like that, and it stays cold to the last drop. Rinse, dry, refreeze, and repeat. I have 4 that I use in the cycle, so that they get good and cold.
Plus I drink the Craft that I buy straight out of the bottle too.
Total KY. hick I reckon.
pb --- I only posted that to see who has a cardiac moment!
I have 25oz heavy mugs, freeze them and them pour the beer right in. I love my beer like that, and it stays cold to the last drop. Rinse, dry, refreeze, and repeat. I have 4 that I use in the cycle, so that they get good and cold.
Plus I drink the Craft that I buy straight out of the bottle too.
Total KY. hick I reckon.
pb --- I only posted that to see who has a cardiac moment!
I feel like, 'Bubba', the beer drinker here! (I'm not referring to anyone here, in case someone uses that name).
I have 25oz heavy mugs, freeze them and them pour the beer right in. I love my beer like that, and it stays cold to the last drop. Rinse, dry, refreeze, and repeat. I have 4 that I use in the cycle, so that they get good and cold.
Plus I drink the Craft that I buy straight out of the bottle too.
Total KY. hick I reckon.
pb --- I only posted that to see who has a cardiac moment!
I've watched people try to beer-bong 9%+ barley wine. they couldn't do it.
GenIke
Well-Known Member
I have this: Libbey craft set
It's pretty fun and now I can say that IMO glass shape does make a difference
It's pretty fun and now I can say that IMO glass shape does make a difference
two_hearted
Well-Known Member
I buy that there's something to having the rim of a glass narrower to hold in the aroma. I think the variety of shapes is just a product of regional preference and breweries wanting to differentiate their product and sell more beer. I think the the perfect glass for me is a willi becher for most beers. I actually really like to drink out of a cheap stemless red wine glass for double ipas and ris'
jakenbacon
Well-Known Member
LOL you shouldn't be able to just tell a beer apart by it being brewed with a lager yeast or ale yeast. They are just typically brewed to traditional style which lends to the lager or ale character. That being said, glasses most definitely lend to aromatics which will intern change your perception of taste. That's why BMC tastes better out of the bottle.....because its terrible...... Also Co2 coming out of solution can be altered, hints the laser etching on Sam Adams glasses....
I find my favorite glass is one that feels good in my hand. That is why I really like a good solid Mug or an Imperial Pint Nonick. I do feel that glass shape to an extent does affect head/aroma retention, but unless I am really trying to impress someone I do not much worry about it and pull out the 'appropriate' glassware.
Nightshade
Well-Known Member
I feel like, 'Bubba', the beer drinker here! (I'm not referring to anyone here, in case someone uses that name).
I have 25oz heavy mugs, freeze them and them pour the beer right in. I love my beer like that, and it stays cold to the last drop. Rinse, dry, refreeze, and repeat. I have 4 that I use in the cycle, so that they get good and cold.
Plus I drink the Craft that I buy straight out of the bottle too.
Total KY. hick I reckon.
pb --- I only posted that to see who has a cardiac moment!
I am with you on this.
I rarely chill my glasses though and do allow porters, barley wines and stouts to warm before drinking. Other than that you could serve it to me in a coffee mug and I would be just fine with it.
Teacher
Well-Known Member
Google for it and ye shall discover just such studies. Riedel actually invented the concept of different glasses for different varietals based purely on the "taste map" of the tongue (i.e.: the idea that we taste experience different taste sensations on different parts of the tongue). But ask any physiologist, and they'll tell you this "taste map" doesn't exist and was never a scientifically accepted. (As an aside: how, then, does Riedel explain radically different shapes for, say, Pinot Noir among their various lines?)
Added to that, there actually have been blindfolded sensory studies, and I have yet to read - or even hear of - one that demonstrated discernible differences in taste based on shape. Same with aroma.
That being said, I completely agree with JeepDiver in that loss of carbonation and cold, as well as aroma direction, are affected by shape. I drink almost all of my beers from tall, round-bottomed "water goblets" that hold around 16 oz or more, so that my nose is in the glass from the very first sip.
And of course, if one gets a thrill out of using a certain shape/composition/decoration/whatever glass, well, who am I to argue?
Do I think it has some effect? Sure, but it's minor and probably more in the aroma area.. The proper glass isn't going to make Budweiser taste like Pilsner Urquell nor is the wrong glass going to do the opposite. I think the proper glass mostly just enhances the experience.
For sure it affects it! All these people saying it doesn't obviously don't drink enough beer from the proper glass. They all are designed quite specifically, with a few exceptions.
I use large tall weizen glasses for my Hefeweizens; they allow for alot of head to collect and when you tip it you get alot of extra aroma from the surface area of a long glass
I use traditional pints or pub mugs for my lighter ales, creams ales and honey blondes etc, a balance between aroma and just a good drinking glass.
I use tulips for for my IPAs, dubbels and trippels to get the most aroma released and concentrated by your nose.
I use tall pilsner glasses for (pilsners!) but also as a mini-wheat beer glass for bottled wits or hefe's under a pint.
I have a set of basically every standard glass, plus branded glasses.
One example of an exception is Hoeegaarden using a short squat glass with 6 sides for their Wit. But it works and the beer flows into your grill better. Maybe psychological there>?
When I drink a Hefe from a bottle it feels really really dumb. Thats just how I feel and I don't bug people in public lol, but at my house my guests drink craft beer out of glasses. Cans and bottles are for that other stuff they call "beer".
I use large tall weizen glasses for my Hefeweizens; they allow for alot of head to collect and when you tip it you get alot of extra aroma from the surface area of a long glass
I use traditional pints or pub mugs for my lighter ales, creams ales and honey blondes etc, a balance between aroma and just a good drinking glass.
I use tulips for for my IPAs, dubbels and trippels to get the most aroma released and concentrated by your nose.
I use tall pilsner glasses for (pilsners!) but also as a mini-wheat beer glass for bottled wits or hefe's under a pint.
I have a set of basically every standard glass, plus branded glasses.
One example of an exception is Hoeegaarden using a short squat glass with 6 sides for their Wit. But it works and the beer flows into your grill better. Maybe psychological there>?
When I drink a Hefe from a bottle it feels really really dumb. Thats just how I feel and I don't bug people in public lol, but at my house my guests drink craft beer out of glasses. Cans and bottles are for that other stuff they call "beer".
Fascinating, Teacher. I just read a four page article in Gourmet about this, per your suggestion to Google it. I used to have four Riedel Cabernet glasses. I dont think they were magic, but they were good glasses. With wine, it makes a difference having the right glass. You wouldnt want to put a Chardonnay in a Pinot glass.
With beer, not so much. Still the aroma is a big part of it. You know what you call a beer judge with a stuffy nose? Steward.
Beer tastes different in a Stella glass than it does in a pint glass. I mostly use the 16 oz cocktail shaker glasses because theyre ubiquitous, and the stem glasses are harder to wash.
With beer, not so much. Still the aroma is a big part of it. You know what you call a beer judge with a stuffy nose? Steward.
Beer tastes different in a Stella glass than it does in a pint glass. I mostly use the 16 oz cocktail shaker glasses because theyre ubiquitous, and the stem glasses are harder to wash.
CreamyGoodness
Well-Known Member
I like to do all sorts of things blindfolded. Gets me slapped sometimes, though.
Today SWMBO found Spiegelau* Pilsstange glasses on sale at Marshall's. That's four more to be etched with the Drom John Home Brew label.
I expect that I will like the Pilsstange. I generally prefer the handled mugs and the stemmed tulips as both are easy to hold. OTOH, I don't like Libby tumbles because they occasionally slip from the hand.
*Spiegelau's wine division is Reidel.
I expect that I will like the Pilsstange. I generally prefer the handled mugs and the stemmed tulips as both are easy to hold. OTOH, I don't like Libby tumbles because they occasionally slip from the hand.
*Spiegelau's wine division is Reidel.
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