Beer Glasses! What do you all use?

[josht4]

In preparation for cracking my first brew in a couple of weeks I've been looking around for some ideal glasses.

 

Trouble is, I am under the impression that to avoid sediment in my glass I need to pour the whole bottle in one go, so where do you find a 740ml-ish glass? I can't find any!

 

I have some nice collector sets of German 1L steins (Hoffbrauhaus, Munich) and 1/2L Norwegian steins (Mack, Troms\xf8 - northernmost brewery in the world!) and a couple crappy 250ml stemmed glasses. None would work for a single pour or even a half pour except the 1L but then it would look sad being only 3/4 full :)

 

What do you guys use??

 

Cheers,

Josh.

[David B5]

Hi Josh,

I've got my favourite glass's but that's not entirely the key to enjoying a brew.

Grab yourself a beer jug. They can be found on Ebay for $10-$40 or often can be sourced at collectable shops for a reasonable price. Don't discount asking friends or relatives if they have a

spare.

Keep your glass's and jug in the 'fridge, it helps with head retention and presentation. Pour the entire contents of your bottle into the jug but be careful to leave the sediment behind.

You can then decant into any size glass's you have on hand.

Avoid using detergents on drinking ware as it will destroy head retention.

You'll also find that as your brews get to the three plus month

age bracket the yeast sediment becomes quite well packed on the

bottom of the bottle. If you pour carefully and smoothly you'll

find not much comes away even after three pours from the same bottle.

All the best for your first batch.

Maybe you could put up a post to let us know how it went.

[Matty A]

Here I am on the opposite side of the scale. I pour about half a glass, then give the bottle a bit of a swirl to get the yeast back into suspension and then tip that in the glass.

 

I think it gives the beer some character and if your good enough the beer looks like its moving.

 

As for leaving the sediment in the bottle, just pour it carefully and it will be ok and as David said, the longer you leave the bottle the more compacted the sediment becomes.

[Matty A]

But as for my glasses, I have Pilsner, Schooner, mugs and 1L steins.

[Biermoasta]

For most beer styles I just use the trusty old nonic pint, and just have to accept that the last 200mL or so will be a little cloudy. Using a jug as already suggested works very well, but normally I'm too lazy to bother. And if the beer has been conditioning in the bottles for a while, especially in the fridge, the yeast sediment becomes rather compact and harder to disturb.

[David B5]

I was being rather presumpuous.

Many people do like a bit of yeast in their beer.

I'm not a fan of it in barley malt beers but a bit in a good wheaty is another thing all together.

Remember the days of bar staff shaking Cooper's red before decanting?

I was the bloke shouting "No don't shake it, I'll pour it".

[Hairy]

A few years ago I bought a Ritzenhoff Draft Beer glass.

 

I think it is around 700ml so it is perfect for the PET bottles. It just leaves half an inch in the bottle to tip out.

[josht4]

I like the jug idea! I'm not a fan of that yeasty flavour either so decanting is a great option for me. If I could get my hands on a 1.5L jug it would be perfect...

[David B5]

Josh,

Maybe you could purchase one from your local pub?

I don't know how you'd go getting a 1.5 litre one though.

If my memory is correct 1150 ml comes to mind as standard.

It's worth noting that my depression era jug wouldn't even be

that capacity. It still works though.

[Matty A]

Or you could just get it age well and the beer would be that compacted that it wouldnt fall of the bottom unless you shake it [biggrin]

[David B5]

A bit of age on your beers improves them in every respect.

[Hoptimus Maximus]

If you are looking for the best simple beer glasses then Crown's Headmaster lives up to its name. It has the etched base that maintains a steady stream of fine bubbles that aids in holding a head all the way to the last drop.

 

My favorite dressy glass is the Stella Atois glass

http://www.budshop.com/product/903

 

I would never consider pouring a whole 750ml into a glass

[David B5]

Neither would I John.

I'm sure that's why when God created man he gave us a mouth & throat.

[josht4]

Cheeky, David. Cheeky. ;)

 

Seriously though, with a nice flavorsome beer 750ml in one go could be a little too much I suppose, but with a megaswill lager it's no problem for me at all. Even 1L would be good.

 

That's glassed of course, not straight down the gullet! :)

[David B5]

Josh,

I tend to equate large vessels with cold climates where having the beer warm up while drinking it is not a problem.

I was fortunate enough to go to Germany some time ago and most beer was served in 500 ml glass's. It was usually possible to order 1 ltr. glass's too.

As for myself my favourite glass's are about the 420ml mark.

They hold half a bottle with a nice head on top.

I don't mind a bit of weight in them either.

Glass is a good insulator and it has a bit of thermal mass.

It will keep the beer cool longer.

 

[Muddy Waters]

Whether you like your beer clear or cloudy you can still pour 2 glasses out a 740/750ml bottle.

 

I generally use a schooner glass (425ml). I pour one and then put the bottles in the fridge until I want the other half and I don't get sediment in either glass unless I want it. As long as you adequately age your bottles most of the sediment will stay on the bottom and if you wish to avoid it entirely you need only leave the last sip in the bottle on the second pour (you can see as the sediment heads up the neck of the bottle).

[josht4]

I'm going to go down the 1.5L jug (found one on ebay!) and 370ml glasses path. That way when a mate or two are over I can whip out the jug and tank it up with 2 bottles, or if I'm on my lonesome I can do Muddy's suggestion and pour half, bung the other half in the fridge.

[Damien E1]

I got given a 750 ml glass for my 21st, sometimes I use that, sometimes I just have 375 ml, and leave the rest in the bottle to refill when I'm empty.

 

[David B5]

Josh,

Good score!

Enjoy your beer.

[AnthonyR1525228508]

By coincidence I bought a set of four Headmaster schooners yesterday. Currently on sale in Coles for $13.

 

Only used them a couple of times, but so far every beer has nice even foam lines all the way down the glass.

 

[jasond4]

I love to use the UK pint glass, but I keg my beer. For the bottled beer I like to use the US pint glass. This size glass is 16fl/oz about 400-450ml (I'm sure someone will correct me). This glass I find is a good size because it has enough room to poor half the 750ml bottle as well as having some room for good headspace (very important). As the others have said with a little extra time and care you can poor a clear beer all the time, no matter what size your glass is and how many poors you make from the bottle.

[Hoptimus Maximus]

By coincidence I bought a set of four Headmaster schooners yesterday. Currently on sale in Coles for $13.

 

Only used them a couple of times, but so far every beer has nice even foam lines all the way down the glass.

 

 

I think I pay about a $1.50 each from the supplier in Adelaide. They sell to the public and you can buy as few as one single glass if you wanted to. I think you are letting your beer down if you fail to present it in a good glass that looks the part but importantly holds the head (unless you are a yank and like the look of flat p*ss)

 

[jasond4]

I dont think that most beer drinkers like to drink there beer flat JohnM27, no-matter were there from. But I do think that the US brewers could teach us Aussie brewers a thing or two about homebrewing. The US is the MEKKA for homebrewers and the majority or thier brewing is either kit brewing ie; malt,hops to boil, spicealty grains to steep or it's all grain brewing with liquid yeast that most of us Aussie brewers would love. What I'm trying to say is don't knock the US just because they brew BUDMILCOORS and you've watch reruns of Cheers. Ther home brewing is something to be in ahw of, just do the Coopers latest servay and it asks some questions that relate to the US homebrewer about full kit brews ect. P.S. The Samual Adams glass is the best beer glasses I've ever drank from and it's the one I use everytime I am trying a new beer, homebrewed or not. Google it![rightful]

[David B5]

I don't think it has much relevance to glass selection but having

sampled more than my share of beers in California I'd call American beers anything but flat p*ss.

California is a beer drinkers heaven.

Beautiful regional beers everywhere you go and at a fraction of the price we pay here.

Can you imagine walking into 7/11 and buying a six pack of Cooper's Vintage or Cascade lager and getting change out of $7?

Alternatively you could purchase an 18 pack of bud for $13.

I can only dream about trying a bona fidi US homebrew.

Contrary to popular belief in Australia the Americans make far better beer than we do. It just doesn't seem to make it accross the Pacific unless it is the mass produced nonsense like Cors, Miller or Bud.

For less than the price we pay for a can of Coke even they start to taste good!

 

[Hoptimus Maximus]

I dont think that most beer drinkers like to drink there beer flat JohnM27' date=' no-matter were there from. But I do think that the US brewers could teach us Aussie brewers a thing or two about homebrewing. [/quote']

 

Having visited many small US breweries and drank numerous beers I totally agree that the US is the Mecca of homebrewing.

I questioned several barmen in the US why I was being served a beer with no head(that looked like flat p*ss). The most common answer I got was that customers do not worry about having a nice creamy head but rather want a full glass of beer. The glassware used to serve beer in the brewpubs was heavy uninteresting glassware that neither looked good or was designed for maintaining a head like nucleated glassware. You only had to look at a lot of the promotional glassware sold in small brewpubs and smaller breweries (eg Shiner, Rogue,BridgePort,Summit,Redhook,Carson City, etc). A painted logo on a piece of cheap heavy glassware. I reiterate that Americans drinking in brewpubs do not expect or get a head on their beer.

What they experience is a taste sensation. I will never forget the smorgasbord of beers I sampled at the New Belguim Brewery in Fort Collins. Their beetroot beer was a knockout.

 

I agree we can learn so much from the Yanks about brewing. But one thing we cannot learn is how to put a head on a beer when serving it at a pub.

Having said that my favourite 2 glasses are the Leffe and the Stella Artois from Budshop (mind you they are European designed)