Do you need glasses?

Beer Glasses are a big thing for me, so I'm going to talk about why people use beer glasses, the types of beer glasses, the best beer glasses for different beer styles and a whole lot of other glassey goodness.

We all know the line when someone hands you a bottle beer of beer and asks if you want a glass: "it already comes in one". And to a large extent, with non-distinct lagers that's a fair statement to make. In fact one of the great joy's of beer is it's portability - going to the beach? Pack a couple of cool brews and you're set.

But there's a counter argument - a glass allows you to enjoy the beer more. You can experience it's colour, it's effervescence (I'm not exactly comfortable with that word in describing a beer), it's head and allows you to get a better handle on it's aroma. If you're taking export gold's to a party it hardly matters, but if you want to get the most out of your limited edition craft ale - or even your better than average lager the right glass can make a good beer even better. If a beer glass can make even a ho-hum lager halfway decent, imagine what it can do for that special IPA you've had tucked away for months!

In the great beer brewing parts of Europe, many beers have their own glass to enhance the flavour and aroma for us humble beer drinkers.

There are a boatload of sizes and regional types of glasses that I wont go into here, but broadly speaking these are the typical beer glasses as recommended by such beer alumni as Michael "Beer Hunter" Jackson.  

Pilsner/Lager Glass

Tall to reveal colour and carbonation, and with a taper to enhance head retention.Like the name on the box says, perfect for Pilsners and Lagers

Snifter/Goblet

For aromatic beers like IPA or "Big" beers for sipping like doppelbock. These are large, stemmed, bowl shaped. I throw beer flutes in this group mainly for simplicity.

Pint Glass/Mug

The classic, versatile beer glass, suits most styles, but atypically English.A clever wee feature is that these can actually enhance the carbonation of a beer.

Most importantly, a beer glass allows you to enjoy another fine aspect of a beer: the pour. 

Getting more out of your beer is an easy sell, and making a run of the mill Ale or Lager taste like something halfway decent can't be bad either. A glass that you can get your nose into, that you can see the beer and experience it's colour and fizz.