The Best Beer Glass For Enjoying Light Ales
When the day is done and you reach for a cold beer, you should also extend a hand for a suitable glass to put it in. Why? There are several reasons beer is better out of glass than a can or even a bottle. In short, sipping suds from a glass heightens flavor, visual appeal, and aroma. Plus, the glass helps keep your drink cold. Plus, a glass helps keep your drink colder than a can and is necessary for draft pours. However, not all glasses are created equal. In the same way you likely prefer a specific type of wine glass or understand the best type of glass for gin, the type of beer you're drinking should pair with a particular type of glass.
In the case of light ales, the widely accepted choice is a pilsner glass. Of course, you don't have to be drinking a pilsner, although there is an argument that pilsner is the best craft beer of all time. You could be quaffing a kolsch, imbibing on a blonde ale, or taking in the luxuriousness of a lager. However you pour a light ale, the pilsner glass should be your vessel of choice.
What's a pilsner glass?
Like a pint, goblet, flute, or tulip glass, the pilsner glass has certain design elements, including an elongated shape made of thinner glass. Your pilsner can take on slight stylistic variations by including a footed base, a flared top, or even a stem, but they all serve the same essential functions, specifically for light ales. First off, we have the tall, slender aspect of the design. When you pour a light beer into a pilsner glass, the bubbly effervescence is on full display. Unlike a pint glass, which can contribute to a warm quaff, the thinner glass of the pilsner also retains the cold.
In addition, the tall, shapely design of a pilsner glass forces the bubbles to the top of the glass, accentuating the carbonation. Those bubbles push the aroma right toward your nose as you sip. Embracing your beverage's spectacular beauty and obtaining the optimal aroma will maximize your taste enjoyment.
What a pilsner glass is not
While a pilsner glass is undoubtedly perfect for light ales, it's not the chosen vessel for other types of beer and beverages. Of course, you're free to sip whatever you want from your pilsner glass — perhaps sparkling cider or Sprite come to mind? And there is no reason you can't fill it with a dark porter or stout. However, connoisseurs would argue a porter belongs in an Imperial pint glass that shaped to maintain a foamy head.
The pilsner is often lumped into the same category as another similar glass, known as a weizen. This type of glassware was also developed with a very specific experience in mind — weizen glasses partner with Hefeweizen. Although the glasses are tall and thin, like a pilsner, weizen glasses have a curvier design. They are narrow at the bottom, offer a slight bowl in the middle, and curve subtly at the top. If your pilsner glass has these features, it's likely actually a weizen glass.
One important note about pilsner glasses is that they typically hold less beer than other types of glassware. It might be as little as 7 ounces or as much as 16, but you can reliably expect to miss a few sips compared to a pint glass. The pilsner's shape is specially formulated to accentuate all the beauty light ales offer, so choose carefully, and your taste buds will celebrate.