Fancy Glassware: Spiegelau Stout vs. Wheat Beer Glasses

[KPBrews]

So I've decided I'd like to have a few very nice beer glasses on hand, as a step up from my usual commercial pint glasses. (which I have a ton of... I literally buy them by the gross (cases of 144) because I use them instead of the ubiquitous red Solo cups at parties, to class up the joint) These would be for me and my wife, mostly, but also when entertaining another couple of two. So I'd be buying 4-6 max.

Thing is, storage space is tight. (Most of the pint glasses live in a box in the garage until there is a large party)

I don't really drink Pilsners, Lagers, or IPAs so I don't really care about them. A pint glass will do for those.

I have a set of 4 very nice tulip glasses for my Belgians already. So really, I'm just looking at something special for stouts, porters, and wheat beers. (unless I'm missing something important?)

Spiegelau makes some really nice looking stout glasses. They also make some nice wheat beer glasses. Thing is, the two seem quite similar. So I'm wondering if I can make do with just buying one or the other? (probably the stout, since I drink more of that)

I'm curious about people's opinion on what the real-world differences is between the two. Seems to me I could buy one or the other and just use it for both, and it would be nearly as good? Is there any real reason to buy both, other than trying to get things that last .01% better?

This pic happens to show both glasses in question:

 

[NTexBrewer]

My vote would be to go with the Stout glass for both. Can't tell if either of these glasses have etching on the bottom of them to create nucleation sites for head and aroma like their IPA glass does. Not sure if that would affect drinking one style or not. The wheat beer glass looks more like a belgian ale glass then a traditional wheat beer glass to me.

I always like my wheat beers Heffs, American Wheats or witbiers in tall glasses to show the nice color and cloudiness. Seems like the Stout glass comes closest with the tall thin base.

 

[iijakii]

Those look pretty cool. I like the left one just for holding purposes. I had their IPA glass and didn't really like it, though.

 

[Brettomomyces]

I have one of those stout glasses and love it, I drink pretty much anything out of it. Spieglau makes some nice stuff...swmbo just found Spieglau champagne glasses at home goods recently for $10 a set.

 

[gtmaus]

I have their stout glasses and don't use them very often. They feel extremely delicate and thin glassed. For me it wasn't worth the money

 

[KPBrews]

My vote would be to go with the Stout glass for both. Can't tell if either of these glasses have etching on the bottom of them to create nucleation sites for head and aroma like their IPA glass does. Not sure if that would affect drinking one style or not. The wheat beer glass looks more like a belgian ale glass then a traditional wheat beer glass to me.

I always like my wheat beers Heffs, American Wheats or witbiers in tall glasses to show the nice color and cloudiness. Seems like the Stout glass comes closest with the tall thin base.

That's how I'm leaning, too. FWIW, the glass is smooth on all of their glassware. The IPA glass has ridges (ripples, really) to increase nucleation sites, not etching (based on my reading, at least... I wish I could find the site I was perusing when I first decided to try this route!).

I agree that the two seem close enough I'll likely just use the Stout glasses for both. I don't see the slightly larger bell, or the slightly shorter base, of the Wheat glass as being significantly different enough.

Their IPA glass:

 

[KPBrews]

I have their stout glasses and don't use them very often. They feel extremely delicate and thin glassed. For me it wasn't worth the money

Most wine glasses are just as thin, so I'm used to handling good glassware with care. From what I understand, it's not as fragile as it feels, since the glass is much higher quality than regular glass.

There's an actual reason behind the thin glass, as well: Less glass to transfer heat as it's cooled means your beer stays cold longer.

 

[hopsandhops]

I have a couple of Spiegelau IPA glasses and I'm not a huge fan of them either. They are plenty strong, I just don't like the shape.

When I'm feeling some fancy glassware, my go to is a Teku

 

[gtmaus]

Most wine glasses are just as thin, so I'm used to handling good glassware with care. From what I understand, it's not as fragile as it feels, since the glass is much higher quality than regular glass.



There's an actual reason behind the thin glass, as well: Less glass to transfer heat as it's cooled means your beer stays cold longer.

Learned something new today [emoji106]
I'm not a wine drinker so I'm probably just use to the weight of the standard pint glasses. I'll have to break them out and give them another try

 

[Brettomomyces]

Learned something new today [emoji106]
I'm not a wine drinker so I'm probably just use to the weight of the standard pint glasses. I'll have to break them out and give them another try

Seriously these are tough glasses. When they do break though they tend to shatter everywhere.

I will also agree that I don't really love the shape of the ipa glass, but their overall quality is top notch.

 

[OscarBrau]

I have the spieglau IPA, stout, lager, tulip, and hefeweizen glasses. The quality is top notch, and while there are thin, they are not fragile. I suggest the stout glasses. They feel nice in the hand, and supposedly enhance flavor and help maintain the head. I've noticed the head retention, but not a big difference in flavor in a side by side test (unlike the IPA glass, which has a huge difference in aroma compared to a standard pint glass). Alternatively, there is a craft beer pack that has the stout, american wheat, and IPA glasses for $30 or so.

 

[grizzly2378]

I have had zero luck with Spiegelau glasses. I've had two of the stout glasses and one IPA glass and all three have broken. Two broke because my dumb ass dropped them in our porcelain kitchen sink, so not really surprising that they shattered (I've also lost several coffee mugs this way). The last one, though, shattered right in my hand. I was simply rinsing it out before pouring another beer and apparently was gripping it too tight (to prevent dropping and breaking yet another glass) and it seriously just disintegrated in my hand. Luckily, I somehow didn't get cut, but I've decided they're just not worth it for me anymore.

 

[KPBrews]

Thanks, guys. I picked up four Stout glasses last night from Crate & Barrel, and enjoyed a couple of pints of stout from them already! I didn't notice a dramatic increase in flavor enhancement, but it was very pleasant to drink from, and I think there is truth to the thinner glass keeping the beer colder longer. And it definitely made for a "refined" drinking experience, so I'm happy.

Now I have to decide if I want to get two more from Left Hand Brewery (with their logo). It'd be a no brainer but S&H is $11 for a $9 glass, which is painful, even when buying two...

Interesting writeup, btw, on the Stout and IPS glasses: http://lefthandbrewing.com/stout-glass/

 

[jwalk4]

I have a couple of Spiegelau IPA glasses and I'm not a huge fan of them either. They are plenty strong, I just don't like the shape.

When I'm feeling some fancy glassware, my go to is a Teku

Can't beat stemware.

Like stilettos, make it look sooooo good.

 

[StMarcos]

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/car...-20-oz-beverage-glass-48-case/5528068371.html

I like imperial nonics for stouts.

 

[KPBrews]

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/car...-20-oz-beverage-glass-48-case/5528068371.html

I like imperial nonics for stouts.

Yup, standard pint glasses are great for big parties, since the commercial ones are they're strong as heck and cheap to buy in bulk.

Read here for info on how the specialty Stout glasses were developed, though:
http://lefthandbrewing.com/stout-glass/

See articles linked in there, too, particularly this one: http://gizmodo.com/a-weekend-of-dark-beer-with-the-worlds-greatest-stout-1557495435

 

[brewcat]

I like those stout glasses. Every once in awhile I'll just drink out of a larger wine glass. My go to right now is the Samuel Smith imperial pint.