Drinking cold beer from one of the best beer glasses on the market makes a huge difference. Sure, it's faster to just drink from the can or the bottle, but a specialized glass will enhance the aromas, create the perfect beer head, and keep your beer cool.
Crafting the perfect glass for your beer is an art form which many have mastered. Different styles suit specific beer drinkers, from the ubiquitous American beer glasses to more niche Teku and Weizen glasses.
If you want the perfect glass, rest assured, I've done the research. After looking through thousands of beer glasses, speaking to specialist brewers, and reading reviews I've narrowed it down to the nine beer glasses that you need.
Whether you're looing to create an garden bar or you want to design a bar in your home, these are an essential. Beer always tastes better when drunk from the right glass.
Best beer glasses 2023
Capacity: 16 fl oz
Material: glass
Dishwasher safe: yes
Set size: 12
This reliable, classic beer glass is also known as the American beer glass. It's slightly wider at the top than at the base and is well suited for a range of different beers, especially American lagers like Budweiser, Coors, or Sam Adams. These are inexpensive and easy to store, but not for more specialised wheat beers.
Capacity: 20 fl oz
Material: glass
Dishwasher safe: yes
Set size: 4
A classic British pint glass. Imperial beer glasses are bigger than the average American glass, holding about 20 fl oz. Also known as 'nonic' glass, they have a small bulge at the top, which helps prevent you from spilling beer as you sip. If you like British-style lager or ales like Newcastle Brown, this is for you.
Capacity: 16 fl oz
Material: glass
Dishwasher safe: yes
Set size: 4
Similar to tulip glasses, the handle on these mugs prevents you from warming up your beer. That makes it excellent for lager, particularly German lager. These glasses are robust and stylish, similar to Bavarian beer steins.
Capacity: 14.5 fl oz
Material: glass
Dishwasher safe: yes
Set size: 4
Pilsner glasses are characteristically tall, slim, and wide at the mouth. They allow for lighter beers like Bitburger to show off their sparkle and clarity, whilst supporting a firm beer head, channelling the aromatic flavors. This is a perfect example, but like other pilsner glasses it's pretty limited in capacity.
Capacity: 15.5 fl oz
Material: glass
Dishwasher safe: yes
Set size: 4
The bulbous body of this tulip glass suits the aromas of malty, hoppy beers. If you drink Belgian beers like Chimay or Duvel, this is for you. The short stem makes it easy to swirl, whilst the flared lip captures the beer's head and enhances the aromas of your chosen beer.
Capacity: 19.2 fl oz
Material: crystal
Dishwasher safe: yes
Set size: 4
This glass suits a range of IPAs, but especially hoppy American IPAs. The ridges aerate hoppy beers, encouraging a steady stream of bubbles up the tall, tapered glass. Your beer will taste more aromatic, especially with nucleated, or etched bottoms like this.
Capacity: 15.5 fl oz
Material: crystal
Dishwasher safe: yes
Set size: 4
With a bowl-like body, this glass is shaped for malts and rich beers – in short, for stouts. The angled glass nurtures notes of coffee and chocolate, which are typically found in stout beers. This feels thick and premium too.
Capacity: 24.7 oz
Material: glass (lead-free crystal)
Dishwasher safe: yes
Set size: 4
If you like the banana and clove aromas of weißbiers like Blue Moon and Hoegaarden, you need a weizen glass. The thin walls of this glass show off the exquisite color of this brew, whilst the thick top helps support the fluffy head typical of wheat beers.
Capacity: 14.2 fl oz
Material: glass
Dishwasher safe: yes
Set size: 6
If you like sour beers, you'll love this glass. It has a luxurious feel with a smooth, wide bowl for swirling. The long, thin lip helps to develop the aromas in your beer and you can hold the stem, so your beer doesn't warm up.
FAQs
What's the most popular beer glass?
There are a range of beer glasses that you are likely to have encountered: a pint, a classic, and an American pint glass, which is wider and then narrows at the bottom. These are most popular, but they don't work for every type of beer.
Does the shape of a beer glass matter?
Experts at The Crafty Cask say that a beer glass should open up flavors, hold the foamy head, and direct your nose to the aroma for the beer. Specific beers might require specific glasses, for example wheat beers are best served in Weizen glasses, which are like Pilsner and Strange glasses. They're slim at the bottom with a wide rim at the top to enocourage carbonation.
The Crafty Cask says 'different beer glass shapes will cause the beer to hit your palate in different places when you take a sip. The long, straight trajectory of a Pilsner glass with direct the beer toward the black-mid mouth, but a flared lip of a tulip glass, which is well-suited to a porter, will introduce the dense, powerful beer into your mouth more gently'.
What shape of glass is best for beer?
The short answer is that it depends on the type of beer. A glass stein is best for lagers, as the handle stops the heat from your hand warming your beer too much. This isn't a problem for traditional British ales, which drink a lot warmer, so a classic nonic pint glass with a bulge to stop you spilling your drink is best here.
A tulip-shaped glass is best for Belgian beers, as the flared lip makes it easy to make a thick head that dissipates gas and stops you from feeling bloated. Pilsners, on the other hand, do best with a tall, thin glass. American straight glasses, however, can work for pretty much any situation.
It can get really niche – for example, kölsch beers from Cologne should be served in a kölsch, a tiny 8oz glass.
Should a beer glass be wet or dry?
Some people rinse their glass, so that the water acts as a 'lubricant'. The experts at Allagash Brewing Company say that 'the extremely thin layer of water reduces the friction between beer and glass. Less friction means less foam and less change of a foam over. This results in less wasted beer and a better looking glass.
Why do you tilt beer glasses?
Experts say that tilting the beer glass to 45 degrees will prevent the beer from foaming too much. This means that your beer will have a smoother taste, plus you'll be able to fill your glass to its full capacity.
Final Thoughts
There's a different type of beer for every drinker. If you want to play it safe, I would opt for a classic, American beer glass. These are durable, stackable, and tend to be reasonably priced too. However, for the specialist drinker, buying a beer glass designed to enhance off your favorite drink will pay off.
How We Test
At Homes & Gardens we like to test everything before we recommend it to you. However, in the case of beer glasses, much as we would have enjoyed drinking lots of beer, we could not.
In the absence of physical tests, our shopping expert, Laura, scoured thousands of beer glasses from across the internet. She spoke to expert brewers to find out the details behind each beer glass, and read extensive reviews to give a representative sense of what each glass is like to use.
If you'd like to know more about how we test, you can visit our dedicated test page.
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