Aussies rank as the second biggest beer drinkers in the world with only Czechs consuming more beer than us, although we lead any other country in the world at money spent on beer.
Surprised? You shouldn’t be.
Ever since Captain James Cook started brewing beer while sailing to Australia as a means of curing the drinking water that’d gone bad aboard, we’ve been obsessed with the drink.
Beer arrived on our continent at the end of the 18th century, and by 1824 we were already brewing it ourselves. But as all of you beer lovers out there know, there’s more to it than the beer itself—you need to pair it with the right glass for the most authentic and palatable experience.
If you’d like to go from an amateur to a professional when it comes to beer drinking, simply buy the right glass for your brew. Not sure where to start? We’ve dissected the art of beer glassware for you below, so jump right in.
Beer Glassware: Why Do Glasses Matter?
Sure, everybody loves knocking the head off and guzzling down a cold one, but not everything is just about the amber fluid we love consuming. The beer glass itself also comes into the spotlight for every beer aficionado.
The experts agree that the glass is key to the experience of each beer’s complexity of aromas, texture, balance and flavour intensity. Each glass needs to show off a particular type of beer and that’s neither aesthetics, nor a marketing trick to drag you deeper into the consumerist mindset.
It’s actually all about physics—the more surface area there is, the more friction you have. And friction helps you pour a pint with great foamy head, where all of the aroma is, say the experts. With the proper glass, you will fully experience whichever type of beer you’re indulging in at its best, allowing you to savor its unique characteristics.
Now hop on board with us to find out which glasses pair best with your favorite brews.
The Goblet
blazerowner / Whether you’re holding a goblet or a chalice, you certainly have a magnificent piece of beer glassware craft work in your hands which allows you take deep, fragrant sips.
The goblet is rougher, while the chalice is more delicate and long-stemmed. Goblet glasses all differ in thickness, size, and weight, and some are even scored inside to maintain a certain level of foamy head at the top of the glass. The goblet makes for the best head retention as it creates a stream of bubbles in your brew.
This wide-mouthed glass can be paired with any beer—it's perfect for any beer drinker who wants to indulge in big, flavorful sips.
The Mug
lizzieerwood / Mugs (or steins, as the Germans would say) are heavy beer glasses characterized by their volume. They may come in many different sizes and shapes, but they’re always the best type of beer glass to clink together with your mates in the pub.
Some varieties feature a lid, which dates back to Medieval times when it was used to prevent disease-carrying insects from falling in.
The mug is also the best glass to make your brew stay cold, because your hand doesn’t directly hold the glass. The most popular mugs are the Stouter Krug mug, which has a dimpled surface, and the standard Tankard mug, which has straight sides.
Mugs are perfect for all stouts and ales, for clanking, cheering, applauding your favorite sports team and singing songs of joy and better days.
The Pint Glass
The classic pub pint is the most popular choice for IPAs, stouts and ales.
Nearly cylindrical, with a slight taper that makes the mouth of the glass wider, the pint makes for easy storage and drinking.
We call pint glasses with different names according to their size, and seem to be the only nation with such variety. In South Australian bars and pubs, we’ve got The Schooner (in reference to a 285 mL beer glass), while Aussies in other regions simply refer to as a pot. The same glass is also called a middy in Western Australia and New South Wales, so don’t get confused if you travel. Just be on the lookout —, in other states beer drinkers use “Schooner” for a bigger pint glass (15 imperial fl. oz.).
No matter what name you use, we recommend you to enjoy your stone cold stouts and ales in the pint glass of your choice.
The Classic Pilsner Glass
Kompania Piwowarska / The tall and slender pilsner glass locks in carbonation, so you can watch a plethora of bubbles rising slowly from the bottom up.
This structure helps to enhance the volatiles (those compounds such as hop oils, spices and yeast fermentation byproducts that evaporate from beer to make its unique aroma) and raises head retention, making this the ultimate glass for pale lagers with stronger carbonation.
The pilsner glass especially showcases the beautiful color, transparency, and carbonation of a bock, pilsner, or blonde ale.
The Tulip
Cambridge Brewing Co. / The tulip glass has the perfect-shaped body that supports the formation and preservation of large foamy heads.
You’ve most likely seen it being used by beer companies globally in their promotional campaigns for pilsners and lagers. Tulips are commonly associated with stronger brews and head-crushers like tripels and quads.
This bulbous-shaped glass will show off the best properties of a big saison, a strong ale or a Double or Imperial stout.
The Snifter
stevendepolo / Although mostly known as traditional brandy and cognac glassware, the snifter also goes quite well with stronger beers.
This glass is smaller in size compared to most other beer glasses, so that makes it a perfect fit for higher alcohol percentage brews. The snifter’s bowl shape atop its thin stem helps showcase the unique flavor of strong dark beers, directing their aroma straight to the nose.
This should be your beer glass of choice for Imperial Stouts and pretty much any brews that are on the heavy and strong side.
Weizen Glass
The weizen glass is a specially made for wheat beers. The purpose of these sophisticated glasses is to keep the pure citric aromas cuddled within your glass for full flavor enjoyment.
It is absolutely necessary that you drink your hefeweizens in this classy glassware. Enjoy your favorite weizens in the Spigelau Classics Wheat Beer Glasses, and the citric aromas will spin your head over the sweet banana-like taste characteristic of wheat beers (though, mind you, there’s no actual fruit in the beer).
This type of beer glass goes perfectly with all weizenbocks, wheat ales, dunkelweizens and kristalweizens.
Craft Beer Glass
The thinner base of the craft beer glass keeps the specific aromas locked within the drinking glass, so with every sip you can enjoy the unique taste of hop to its fullest.
The specific design of craft beer glasses is made to deliver the full complexity of aromas, demonstrating their optimum texture, balance and flavour intensity. For example, special IPA craft glasses will showcase all the varying aroma profiles for IPA beer, while preserving its frothy head and volatiles. The stout craft beer glass on the other hand, will show off the the specific aroma and head retention of craft stouts in any variety.
Each craft beer glass goes with its corresponding craft beer type.
Which Beer Glasses Will Be the Start of Your Collection?
We hope at this point you know how crucial the proper glass is to your beer experience. If you’d like varying levels of head retention and exposition with each style of beer, the obvious first step is simply choosing the right style of glassware to complement each brew.
Ready to create an authentic pub atmosphere right at home to enjoy with your friends?
Browse through our collection of classic and unconventional top-class beer glassware, and with just a few clicks, you can start sipping your favorite ale, lager, stout, weizen or craft beer like a professional.
