As you might have expected, there is no definitive answer to the question. In fact the question can often lead to quite a debate.
But whilst there is no clear cut answer help is at hand. We will try to help you to separate your goblets from your stein and your flutes from your tankards.
As you can imagine, one type of beer glass doesn’t suit all kinds of beers. There are glasses designed to keep the sediment at the bottom and others to lock in the beer’s flavours.
So let’s delve in further and look at some of our recommendations.
The stylish Teku beer glass has become firm favourite in the world of beer tasting. It’s a great all-rounder and can be used all kinds of beers.
Most Teku glasses are 330ml, making them perfect for most bottled craft beers. There are some larger versions as well.
If you are serious about beer tasting then the Teka glass is the perfect option. It was designed by the Italian wine experts Teo Musso and Lorenzo Dabove. The glass opening is easy to drink from and the bowl is great for creating head and directing and holding aromas. The stem stops you from heating up the beer.
The weizen glass is designed for wheat beer (Weißbier, Witbier). It word mean white but also wheat which is the same etymological stem.
The weizen is normally taller than a standard pint glass and in Germany it tends to hold 500ml of Wheat Beer. However in Belium they can be as small as 250ml.
The weizen is similar to a pilsner glass but is slightly less angular and the bulb curves out more. the thin body and wide bulge help to provide a good frothy head and the thin base locks in any sediment.
An elegant choice and often used for dark, malty Belgian ales and German Bocks.
Unlike pint glasses and stein glasses, beer chalices and goblets don’t have a specified size but tend to between 330 and 440ml.
The goblets have wide mouths which make them perfect for beer tasting. The wide opening makes it easier to profile the aromas of the beers. They tend to have a bowl like shape on top of a stem.
The pint glass is probably the most popular type of beed glass and are used for most beer types such as ales, lagers, IPAs, and pilsners.
There are some variations but a pint roughly hold around 5ooml of beer. The imperial pint stems from Britain but is used in many parts of the world. The Imperial pint holds 568ml of beer, the American shaker holds 473ml. There are other variations such as the South Australian pint (the schooner) that holds 425ml.
American shakers have straight sides and are often criticised by beer experts. Due to the straight sides the head dissipates and the beer loses its qualities. You can see more on that debate here. However, most pint glasses have a bulge (nonic or “no-nic because the design is more durable)) near the top of the glass or grows towards the top (conical). This makes it easier to hold and helps to create head which releases nice aromas.
The stein glass is good for session drinking ales, pilsners and lagers.
A stein does not not have a regulated size but tend to be around 5ooml or 1L. They dimpled pint glass that looks like a hand grenade is usually an imperial pint of 568ml.
The stein historically had a lid on it to keep out flies. Steins are made of all kinds of materials. Including earthenware, stone (possibly the root of the word stein), bone and glass. They are highly collectable but tend mainly to be found a events like the Oktoberfest or tourist locations.
The dimpled glass mug nearly disappeared with the rise in popularity of the nonic glass. However it is seeing a resurgence in some areas. Both glasses are good at maintaining the beer cold and are very durable but somewhat cumbersome, heavy and non-stackable.
The flute glass is light and elegant and used for lambics, bière de champagne, bière Brut and fruit beers.
There is no specific size for a flute glass but they tend to be on the smaller end of the scale.
The beer flute is designed in the same way a champagne flute. And it is done so for the same reasons. The height and narrowness is designed to that the carbonisation of the drink is force quickly to top of the glass. This then explodes into aromas at the top of the glass. That is why drinks like fruit beers are perfect for this kind of glass. These kind of drinks need to be drunk cold. Therefore, the stem means you can hold the glass without warming the drink up.
Quite IPA glassa new addition to the beer glass world but it has been growing in popularity on the craft beer scene.
The IPA glass, AKA Spiegelau IPA glass, are often designed for specific breweries so differ in size. In general they vary between 300 and 500 ml.
Of course IPAs are hoppy and aromatic so the IPA glass is designed to accentuate those aromas. The ribbed bulges at the bottom of the glass help to create head. The narrowing head forces the aromas quickly to surface which creates a focused stream of aromas. The bowl helps to lock in the flavours for longer.
The tulip beer glass is much the same as the IPA glass but without the ridged ste. Again, the bulb shaped tulip locks in the aromas and flavours for longer making a good choice for IPAs.
