Don't Drink From Cans

Heavy Seas is one of my favorite craft breweries. Loose Cannon IPA was one of the first IPAs I drank, and I still enjoy it frequently. However, when I saw the latest Pyrate's Log newsletter from the brewery, I couldn't help but exclaim, "No! Don't do that!"

I was surprised to see the brewery advocating drinking the beer from the can and missing out on the full aroma, the full flavor and even the attractive appearance of the beer. The brewery's own description reads "The carefully cultivated interplay of Simcoe, Palisade, and Centennial creates a most fragrant IPA—its nose bursts with notes of grapefruit, herbs, and pine." You won't get that drinking from the can (or a bottle.)

Given the advances in canning technology, I'm fine with putting craft beer in cans. In fact, I'm starting to prefer it — cans keep the beer fresh longer, there's no chance of light damage, and the package is lighter and more compact than bottles.

But pour the beer into a glass. Please.

Do We Need Another Glass Style?

Interesting glassware adds to the fun of this craft beer hobby. We own a wide selection of glassware, logo-ed and otherwise that we use frequently. (As an aside, the post about the Sam Adams glasses is one of the all-time most popular posts on these Musings. I don't hold prejudices against any glassware style, as long as the serving is not frosted.

I came across news of a new glass style that is the result of a collaboration between Dogfish Head, Sierra Nevada, and Spiegelau. The glass is designed specifically for drinking India Pale Ale (IPA). The Dogfish Head web site lists the specific features they say will bring out the best in hop-forward beers:

• Thin, round walls to maintain proper temperature longer.
• A slender, bowed shape to amplify hop aromas.
• Wave-like ridges to aerate beer on its way in and out of the glass.
• A wide mouth, allowing drinkers to comfortably nose the beer.
• A laser-etched logo on the bottom of the bowl to sustain carbonation and head.

Both breweries are offering the glassware on their online stores, with the respective brewery's logo for $9.00. Here are Sierra Nevada's Ken Grossman and Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione discussing the new glass.

Do we need another beer glass style? It's got nothing to do with need. It's about enjoyment. Given my fondness for IPA, I'm looking forward to putting these to the test.

A Better Beer Head?

We know that the carbonation in beer is a vector to release the flavor. That's why I typically employ a hard pour to create tall head when I'm enjoying a good beer. Some specialized glasses, like the ones from Sam Adams or Chimay even have "nucleation sites" in their bases to help release more carbonation.

According to this site, the Japanese like a large head on their beer. And some entrepreneurs have taken the creation of beer head to a new level.

Yes, though in other less enlightened countries, foam at the top of the beer is typically seen as a ploy by mean bartenders ripping off unwitting patrons, in Japan, a frothy head is absolutely expected as a vital part of a beer's refreshing taste! And you'll be surprised, that first sip through the froth really does quench your thirst more, especially on a hot summer day.

Watch the video.

Faulted For Full Pints

Not too long ago, I mused on the question "How Much Beer Is Enough?" Some folks measure "too much" by the pint. Apparently, at a pub in the U.K., serving too much beer in a pint can get you fired.

A pub landlord and ­landlady have been ­suspended and ­threatened with the sack for serving pints “too full” of beer. 

Pete and Debbie Gibson were ordered to close their Junction Inn pub on New Year’s Eve ­because brewery bosses said the heads on their pints of beer and lager were not big enough. 

Pete, 48, and Debbie, 47, say they have been told they owe brewing firm Samuel Smith £10,733 in lost stock for topping up customers’ pints 

The dispute centres on whether or not customers are entitled to ask for more than 95 per cent of their pint glass to be filled and get the pint topped up so there’s less of a frothy head.

At first glance at the headline I assumed that folks were upset that they weren't getting a proper head on the beer. As noted previously, a proper head on the beer is an important aspect to the full enjoyment of a good beer. As it turns out, the claims of the owners revolve around the servers being too generous with the product.

Interesting conundrum.

See "Pub landlord suspended for serving pints "too full" of beer".

Warm Beer To-Go - A sensible approach

Taylor Smack over at Blue Mountain Brewery penned a note on Facebook recently in which he addresses some of the myths about buying warm beer vs. cold beer. If you're worried about your beer purchase warming up a bit between the store and home, don't. A bit of warming and cooling just doesn't matter all that much. With Taylor's permission I have reprinted his note here.

Warm beer to-go...aarrghhh!!!
by Blue Mountain Brewery on Friday, December 17, 2010 at 1:31pm

We just lost a sale this morning and I am compelled to post as this has happened before. Here's the deal: sometimes customers want to buy their beer warm, because they are traveling with it. Seems OK, right? I mean, you can buy beer in the store warm and not worry about that warm/cold/warm/cold back and forth skunking the beer, right? So we should TOTALLY sell beer to people warm if they want it, right? WRONG! Here's the truth, folks: all beer is bottled cold; it's how you get the carbonation to stay in solution! IF you buy warm beer it is simply beer that was once cold that got warm. So if you buy our beer cold and let it get warm, at least it was kept cold (i.e. in the most stable, freshness-keeping state) as long as possible. Letting it warm up in your car one time is no worse (and in fact a lot better) than buying it warm at some store.

Yet this morning my hard-working staff were absolutely unable to convince a customer of this--he literally said he was going to drive 30 minutes to Beer Run in Charlottesville and buy Blue Mountain beer warm, for a couple dollars more per six-pack! What?!? Now, God bless the Beer Run guys and all our wonderful retailers but the fact is that if you buy our beer warm somewhere it is only warm because it was filtered cold, bottled cold, got loaded onto my distributor's truck where it warmed up a bit, sat in my distributor's warehouse for a few weeks where it warmed up a lot, got loaded on my distributor's truck (mid-August, anyone?) and then loaded onto a shelf at a store where it sat--wait for it!--WARM!

The kicker? Our distributor's delivery driver was out front overhearing this while he waited for us to finish a bottling run of the very beer the customer wanted! He laughed his ass off and told the guy, "Look, they're literally back there bottling this right now!" The fellow wanted to hear none of it. He wanted his beer warm. So if you're out there, buddy, congrats on the purchase of beer that was at least a month older than what you could have gotten today. And guess what...it was once cold too, like the beer you passed up this morning! Aaarrrgghhhh!

Our staff occasionally has a hard time convincing people of the simple logic that warm beer is simply cold beer that warmed up, and they ask me to just give in and keep some warm beer out for these hard-headed folks, but to our loyal Facebookers out there...y'all get why I won't give in to this ridiculous breech in logic, right?

Venting over. Signing off to enjoy one of the fresh, cold Full Nelson's I just bottled!

-Taylor

This brings to mind the factory beer company that promotes their beer as "cold-filtered." Sure, just like every other beer.

One Step Backward for Beer Perceptions

I try not to repost too much from other beer blogs, but this is something I think deserves repeating. Jay Brooks gives the Today Show a solid, and well-deserved, trouncing for their segment "Best Microbrews For Fall." I've ranted in the past about poor drinking habits, or beer abuse, and the damage it does to the public's perception of beer and beer drinkers. This segment only serves to illustrate the point. Besides watching the hosts wrinkle their noses after nearly every sip, the most horrific point comes when one of the hosts drinks beer out of a construction hard hat fitted with bottle holders and tubes from which to drink. Just how clueless can they get? The Today Show goes from talking about "artisan production" to falling back to the same old alcohol abuse image the craft beer industry has been trying to overcome. That bit alone is enough to discredit the piece as any sort of serious beer journalism. Watch the segment below and judge for yourself.



Maybe Today should have added beer pong to the mix. I've often remarked how I enjoy seeing craft beer covered in the mainstream media. However, this piece is not showing advocacy of craft beer at all. (Granted, they never actually used the term "craft beer".) While I hardly consider the Today show to be a source of serious journalism, in this case viewers were seriously misled. A commenter on Jay's blog says "From our perspective, it’s better to have 5 million people exposed to beer as a topic, even though we might have changed the content of the segment had we had the opportunity to do so." I disagree, what good does it do to have 5 million viewers being misinformed about craft beer?

In fairness, the Today Show did do a respectable segment back in June with Marne Old and Sam Calagiane, but they took a step back with the latest piece.

Jay's analysis is here.
The Today Show segment is here.

American Eats: Beerhead

This video clip should be required viewing for all beer servers. "American Eats: Beerhead, The proper way to present and pour beer" debunks the misconception that head on a beer is bad. "It's just one of those lovely things about beer that it has a beautiful foamy head" says Randy Mosher, author of "Radical Brewing".

















View the video
Also, on Thursday, July 31 at 10:00 PM EDT, The History Channel presents "The Works, Episode: Beer". Check your local listings for more schedule info.

Beer Etiquette, or how to keep your friends

We've all been there, and have probably been guilty at times. Sometimes it's hard for serious craft beer fans to not get a bit carried away with sharing their knowledge or opinions. The July Merchant du Vin newsletter includes a list of excellent tips that may make your next beer with friends even more pleasant. There is some good advice here.

1. People are entitled to their own opinions about beer. Even if the beer reviews call it a "five-star A-plus," even if it's the first choice of five out of the six in the party . . . someone may just not care for it. For balanced enjoyment, don't let the homebrewing, advanced-beer-hobbyist, double IPA fan order a huge, strong beer for someone who wants a soft, light cream ale or sweet dark lager.

2. If your group is buying rounds, don't feel locked in by the second or third round. People drink at different paces - it's OK to order a beer on your own if other folks aren't ready; it's certainly more polite than sitting with an empty glass or forcing someone else to hurry up and finish their beer faster than they want to.

3. Use a coaster. If your bartender or server doesn't give you one, ask. A beer glass sitting directly on the bar or table sets some people's teeth on edge - maybe someone in your party.

4. Be careful of beer vs. wine vs. cocktail comparisons. They are different. They all range in flavors. People are entitled to choices, but saying "I like wine better than beer," can be upsetting to a beer lover. Try this: "I'm still searching for a beer I really like."

5. Remember: your wine by the glass may be oxidized, and your cocktail may be expensive or slow to prepare on busy nights . . . your beer will likely be perfect, and delivered quickly.

6. Ask your server succinct questions about a beer you haven't had. If he or she doesn't know, that may be a sign that the bar or restaurant often tries a number of new and interesting beers - a good thing, huh?

7. When out for food, say this to a restaurant that offers limited variety of beer: "We prefer to find a variety of beers when ordering food." (Then say) a. "Sorry, but we're leaving now for a restaurant that has more than light lager. " (Or) b. "We'll stay, but we are a lot less likely to return until you bring in a wide range of beer flavors."

8. It's about flavor. Alcohol is a component to flavor; beer is not an alcohol delivery medium.

9. Beer is a value. Some places will charge more based on rent, overhead, neighborhood, etc. . . . but beer is generally a "flavor per dollar" bargain. 10. If you are a homebrewer, don't broadcast your beer expertise to your friends unless they ask. While deep knowledge may enhance your beer enjoyment, it may disrupt somebody else's enjoyment.

11. Be careful of generalizations like "I prefer dark beers," or "I don't like dark beers." It's like saying, "I like movies whose titles start with the letters A through L," or "I don't like red foods."

12. Never order "a beer," - order by style, by variety, or by specific name. (As the late Michael Jackson said, would you order "a plate of food"?)

13. Be grateful for the variety of beer that is out there, from down the street or from a classic brewing nation. You are living in the best beer time in history.

14. Ask if a brand you are unfamiliar with is independent, or whether it's owned by a large entity. Then, assuming the beer is good, decide whether it matters to you.

15. If you get a frosted mug or glass, politely ask your server if they have any non-frosted glassware, maybe for the next round. Cold kills flavor nuances.

16. Read beer publications. They are fun, sincere, useful, and they want readers.

17. Attend a beer dinner, tasting and/or a beer festival.

18. Never assume that a dark beer is high in alcohol.

19. Remember that brewers make wort - yeast makes beer. Brewers consider yeast to be something somewhere between a business partner and a beloved pet . . . or even a beloved child in some cases. Respect yeast!

20. Push your chair or barstool in after you get up!

Previous editions of the Merchant du Vin newsletter can be found here.

No Frosted Mugs Please

I've posted in the past about my disgust at being served beer in a frozen mug. I was recently interviewed regarding this problem for an Associated Press article about beverage serving temperatures. From "Setting the Perfect Temperature for a Drink":

His friends may call him a snob, and waitresses may give him odd looks, but David Turley isn't about to drink a beer with chunks of ice floating in it. But that's what can happen at restaurants that insist on serving his favorite beverage in icy mugs. And so Turley has no qualms about insisting upon another, unfrosted, glass.

"I'm pretty passionate about it," says Turley, a 50-year-old information technology worker from Fredericksburg, Va. "The first thing I look at in a restaurant is the beer menu. I consider it a food."

It's nice to see the fight getting some press. I'd like to see more folks step up and reject beer served in frosty, sweaty glassware. The article goes on to talk about proper serving temperatures for beer, wine and other beverages, and can be read in its entirety here.

Read previous blog rants regarding frosted mugs here.

A Pint-Size Problem - Or much ado about nothing?

The Wall Street Journal is running a piece entitled "A Pint-size Problem". Journalist Nancy Keates attempts to make the case that there's a move by pubs and restaurants to cheat beer drinkers.

Four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline may be a cause for outrage. But it pales next to the righteous fury provoked by five-dollar-a-pint beer.

Beer prices at bars and restaurants have risen over the past few months, as prices of hops and barley have skyrocketed and retail business has slowed alongside the economy.

Some restaurants have replaced 16-ounce pint glasses with 14 ouncers -- a type of glassware one bartender called a "falsie."

And customers are complaining that bartenders are increasingly putting less than 16 ounces of beer in a pint glass, filling up the extra space with foam.

Two of the world's biggest glassware makers, Libbey and Cardinal International, say orders of smaller beer glasses have risen over the past year. Restaurateurs "want more of a perceived value," says Mike Schuster, Libbey's marketing manager for glassware in the U.S. Glasses with a thicker bottom or a thicker shaft help create the perception. "You can increase the thickness of the bottom part but still retain the overall profile," he says.

Dedicated beer drinkers are fighting back, with extra vigilance about exactly how much beer they get for their buck. They are protesting "cheater pints" and "profit pours" by outing alleged offenders on Web discussion boards and plugging bars that maintain 16-ounce pints, in hopes peer pressure will prevail. And they are spreading the word about how to spot the smaller glass (the bottom is thicker).

Everyone loves a conspiracy! I think the tone of the article could give readers a false impresion. In the interest of full disclosure I must state I answered an email query from Ms. Keates as she was preparing the article and made many of the same points I writing here. I'm not so sure we are dealing with deception as much as a simple awareness issue. Let's face it folks, prices are going up all around, and this is often reflected in packaging. Candy bars, detergent boxes, juice bottles; it's easy to find products now being presented in smaller packages for the same price. I don't doubt that there might be some bars that are purposefully mislabeling "pints." However I think this article creates an impression of deception where there is none.

At many bars and restaurants the draft selection is listed as simply "draft beer". I've seen "large" and "small" options as well. If I'm unsure of the glass size or style, I'll ask. As I stated in my response to Ms. Keates' query, unless the bar is specifically stating that the draft is a pint, or giving a specific ounce listing, there's no duplicity. The Wall Street Journal article states "Evidence of short-pouring is hard to nail down, but there are signs the practice is common." So, either the evidence is hard to nail down or it's common.

The online article is accompanied by a link to an audio interview with the author. In this podcast the interviewer asks "Are restaurants and other establishments still trying to call it a pint when it technically isn't?" Nancy Keates responds "No, I don't think it's really deceptive ..." After Keates specifically states that she found no deception, the interviewer follows up with "Is there any other type of deception that's taking place out there?" The author then goes on to explain that patrons feel they are getting less beer. This may indeed be the case, but that doesn't point to deception unless the size of the glass is claimed to be different. Later in the interview Ms. Keates states that people are indeed willing to pay a higher price for a larger-sized glass. Hmm, drinkers are willing to pay more for a larger glass, however when they pay less for a smaller glass it's deceptive? In the interview Nancy Keates adds, "There's an assumption when you order a beer at a bar you're getting a pint." There's no evidence presented of this universal assumption. Unless the menu states specifically a pint, why would I assume a 16 ounce pour? In fact, there are many beers with which I would specifically not expect 16 ounces.

A portion of the article, and also the accompanying podcast, is devoted to the "problem" of head on a beer. Perhaps it's just me, but I get very upset when I watch a bartender work so hard to avoid any head on a pour. A proper beer pour does include a head on the beer. Servers who attempt to pour a beer with no head are uninformed, as is the drinker who insists on a headless pour. The carbonation helps to release the aromas and flavors of the beer. I think what we have here is not a conspiracy to cheat the drinker, but a lack of education on the part of servers and drinkers alike.

The problem we do have is the rising cost of a beer, not the size of the glass. Let's focus on solving the former instead of creating an issue where none exists.

Now if my beer shows up in a frosted glass or with fruit, then we have a problem!

Enjoy a Proper Pour

Conventional wisdom has long told us that the "perfect pour" is accomplished by decanting the beer into a glass held at an angle, then straightening the glass to finish. This is done to create some head at the top, but still get the entire bottle poured in one motion. Occasionally I'll run into the waiter or waitress who will take this to the extreme and pour an entire beer extremely slowly down the side of a glass to avoid any head what-so-ever.

One problem I frequently encounter with this tilted glass method, especially with an unfamiliar beer, is I'll misjudge how much head the beer will produce and I'll undershoot, ending up with insufficient head at the end of the pour. I prefer to err on the side of too much head and pour harder and wait for the beer to settle before emptying the rest of the bottle. This way I get the full effect and can enjoy the beer in it's proper glory. Recently I've found that I'm not alone in this. (Not that I ever thought I was a trend setter.)

In a recent blog entry entitled "How to drink a bottle of beer", Hugh Sisson of Clipper City Brewing noted:

Pour the beer straight down the middle of the glass, intentionally creating a thick collar of foam, degassing the beer a bit, and releasing the subtle aromatics. You will probably have to let the beer settle for a few minutes before you can fill the glass completely, but such patience will definitely be rewarded when one progresses to the next step – smelling.

Now, as you admire the wonderful frothy presentation you have created, pass your nose deliberately over the glass, and breathe in the delicate nuances of malt and hop the brewer has worked so diligently to provide – making note of the synergy and interplay between the elements.

The proper head on a beer is important to get the full aroma out of the brewer's creation. Our sense of taste is highly influenced by our sense of smell. The carbonation from a hard pour will release greater amounts of aroma particles to your nose.

An Associated Press piece published recently called "Use your head to serve beer" also touches on the less reserved pouring method:

Pour a little, wait a little.

Don't tilt the glass. The idea is to keep the head. Pour some beer into your glass, let the head foam up a bit and settle, then keep pouring. It might take two or three pours. The idea is to keep the head while releasing some of the carbonation that otherwise can leave you feeling bloated.

"By doing it that way, it knocks a little gas out of the beer. It makes it taste smoother, less harsh," [beer consultant Randy] Mosher said.

"It's nice to have a thick head on beer. It feels good on the lips. It's all about those details."

Both authors also cover serving temperature, a subject that I've touched on several times in the past, including here and here. Hugh Sisson notes:

... one must begin by removing the bottle of fine malt beverage from one’s refrigerator at least 20 minutes before consumption (this is not advisable with light beer!) This allows the beer to warm ever so slightly, permitting the delicate nuances of flavor to be released from their cold thermal captors and present themselves more effectively to your anxious palate.

And from the Associated Press piece:

Assuming you don't have multiple refrigerators or beer coolors, keep them in your regular refrigerator. Before drinking, let the beer sit on the counter for about 15 minutes. This should get it to a better temperature.

Mosher does urge leaving the frozen beer glasses for only the lightest American industrial beers, such as Bud, Miller or Coors.

"You never want to put a really good beer in a frozen glass. It's a waste of money," he says. "The aromas just can't get out. They get locked into the liquid. So at slightly warmer temperatures, they have the ability to jump out of the glass and get into your nose."

In both of these articles, the indication is that only "light" or "American industrial beers" should be served very cold. The unwritten conclusion here is that these beers have no flavor to be loss in the first place. I highly recommend reading both of these articles in their entirety as they both make excellent arguments for paying close attention to all aspects of enjoying a beer; temperature, the pour, the glassware, and of course the beer itself.

Aargh! Promoting Iced Beer

I came across this humorous ad for The Chillster Refreezable Pint today. The Chillster pint is a plastic cup that can be re-frozen and is marketed as "Keeping Beer Cold and the Planet Cool!." The web page states:

Switch to The Chillster Refreezable Pint. It will keep your drink ice cold and help save the environment.

These Chillster Refreezable Pints are the only pints that keep your drink ice cold... without the ice. Our patent pending design uses non-toxic, refreezable ice crystals to surround your drink, keeping it frosty cold for hours.

Don't you have to use energy to freeze the Chillster before you use it? Wouldn't that use more energy resources than not over-chilling your beer glass in the first place? I actually doubt that anyone drinking a beer they want served ice cold would be nursing the drink for hours.

The web site also makes the claim that "Americans use more than 110 BILLION disposable cups each year!" Okay, I'm all for not drinking beer out of a disposable cup. So why use more energy to "freeze" a plastic cup? Let me have a reusable glass and not use that extra energy to over-chill the beer.

NO NEED FOR GLOVES
Scientifically designed to keep your drink cold while hands stay warm.

No gloves are needed to hold a proper non-frosted glass in the first place. (In fact, I don't actually know anyone who needs gloves to hold a frosted beer mug.)

In actuality, if someone wants to drink their Coors or other mega-beer out of a frozen mug that's probably good since they might not like what they tasted otherwise. Unfortunately, this misconception has a way of causing good beers to be served under poor conditions or other abuses. It's all too funny in a sad way.

Samichlaus Abuse

I came across this posting on a Virginia college's "sports forum."

Oh, and there's a Samichlaus in the fridge
World's strongest beer, brewed once a day on Christmas Day. I got one (from last Dec 25) as a gift a few weeks ago. I think I'll pour it into a frosted mug and see what its li[k]e.

Now, it's no surprise the guy thinks a frosted mug was the way to go. The mega-brewers have been misleading beer drinkers for years by promoting beer in sub-zero mugs in order to prevent people from actually tasting their beers. I'm sorry that the poster didn't get to enjoy the full flavor of the Samichlaus, at the proper temperature. I came across this post because someone else on the forum directed the original poster to my post against frosted mugs, so maybe there's a good outcome to the story. In the poster's followup posts, he makes no mention of the flavor or his experience, other than to reply "too late" to the admonition against the frosted glass. He does mention it took over an hour to finish the beer. At least it had surely warmed by then, and maybe it wasn't too watered down from melting ice.

Of course Samichlaus is no longer the world's strongest beer, nor is it brewed on December 25, but that's beside the point. More on Samichlaus here.

Choosing Glassware - Perfection or Practicality?

My opinion on proper glassware is no secret. There's a poll on RealBeer.com that caught by attention this morning. Which Glass? asks the question "If you could use only one glass (or type of glass) for the rest of your life, what would you choose?" The answer options are taken from from BeerAdvocate.com's glassware page:

• Flute Glass
• Goblet (or Chalice)
• Mug (or Seidel, Stein)
• Pilsner Glass (or Pokal)
• Pint Glass (or Becker, Nonic, Tumbler)
• Snifter
• Stange (Slender Cylinder)
• Tulip
• Weizen Glass
• Oversized Wine Glass

As I pondered the question, my first thought was that my current favorites are the Samuel Adams Boston Lager Glasses and some Cervoise-style glasses, neither which are on the list. But, if I could have only one glass, would it be one of those? Surprisingly, I realized that it would be a utilitarian pint glass, and more specifically, the shaker pint, even though I rarely use those these days. Yes, that heavy, created-for-mixing-drinks-not beer, much-maligned shaker pint. Why? It's stable, easy to hold, has a wide mouth, and is easy to store. Additionally, if I only had one glass for the rest of my life, I'd want one that's not so fragile that I have to worry about breaking it! So, the Pint Glass option got my vote.

When the results graph came up, I was quite surprised. The pint glass was in the lead by a significant margin. As I write this, the pint glass has 63.01% of the 73 votes cast. Check any online beer forum and you'll see plenty of raving about the proper glassware, yet when it all comes down to it, the plain ol' pint glass still rules. It's only fair to note, that as you read through the accompanying thread, it's apparent that the nonic pint is a specific favorite. The shaker still draws disdain from many beer geeks. Nonetheless, the poll results surprised me. The perfect glassware is one thing, but utility wins in the end.

Could I have a non-frosted mug please?

What is it with restaurants and bars serving beer in frosted mugs? I can almost understand the reasoning if the beverage in question is some broccoli-water flavored macro-brew, especially the ones that need a lime to help kill the taste. Serving the beer extra cold deadens the palate. Perhaps if folks really tasted some of these beers, the restaurants might not sell as many. Or perhaps folks would start insisting on better beer. I want to taste my beer. If the only beers available are ones that need their flavor hidden, I'm not ordering! So often though, even when they are serving something other than Bud-Miller-Coors, the frosted glass is the norm in many restaurants.

Besides masking the flavors, serving beer in a frosted glass causes bits of ice to form in the drink. Along with the water that condensates on the inside of the glass, all this moisture serves only to dilute the beer. Then there's the condensation on the outside of the glass that leaves puddles on the table and also makes the glass slippery and hard to hold. And I certainly don't enjoy having my lips stick to the icy glass rim.

On one occasion recently when I've asked for a non-frosted glass, the waitress came back with the glass and stated "Luckily we had one." Lucky indeed. I used to feel a bit awkward when asking for a non-frosted glass. Now I figure since I'm paying for it, I'll enjoy the beer served at least somewhat properly. Perhaps if more people were less accepting of these iced servings, the restaurants would change. Or at least the servers might ask before pouring.

Beer and Glassware

Early on in my exploration of craft beer, I started building a collection of "shaker glasses." You know, those V-shaped glasses that many breweries and pubs put their logos on? They're also referred to as "shaker pints." Cheap, heavy, sturdy, easy to hold. (BTW, watch those "pints" you order in the pub. A US pint is 16 ounces, an Imperial (UK) pint is 20 ounces. However, most of these souvenir "shaker" glasses are only 12 ounces, though served as a "pint" in some pubs.)

Then my family gave me a set of very nice Pilsener glasses as a gift. I understood why pilseners had to be poured into that tall glass. However, I still didn't really see how the glass made that big of a difference for most beers. But before long I picked up a set of Chimay glasses in Ebay. I soon added some Hefe Weizen glasses to the mix. These tall glasses really do enhance the wheat beer drinking experience by allowing the head to develop and the wheat and clove scents to reach the nose. When the liquid swirls around in the widened part of the glass, the carbonation is increased and the flavors are released. At the Great Divide brewery in Denver I picked up a pair of their Cervoise glasses after drinking from them at the Tap Room. These glasses have become my favorite choice for Pale Ales and IPAs. I've since added similar glasses from Stone Brewing. Next came some brandy snifters from Brooklyn brewery. Perfect for Imperial Stouts and "Winter warmers." I don't mind the glasses having a brewery's logo, even if I'm enjoying a different beer. I have a pair of Smithwick's pints that are favorites for brown ales and the like. I'm constantly adding various other glasses to the mix.

It doesn't seem all that long ago that I swore by shaker glasses for everything. I will still pick up souvenir brewery glasses on occasion. The shakers are good all-around glasses, great for when you need a lot of glasses, or don't want to risk your good glassware getting broken. However, most of the time I prefer not to make that compromise. The proper glassware really does enhance the enjoyment of the beer. Some of this is visual, but we're visual beings. Eating fine food is better done off of nice tableware, rather than paper plates. A clear glass allows you to see the beer and appreciate the various colors of different styles of beer. Take a look inside Michael Jackson's Great Beer Guide here to see what I mean. Of course, I avoid drinking from a bottle whenever possible. I'll take one of those ubiquitous red plastic cups over the bottle. Who knows where that bottle's been before you put it to your lips. You can't detect the aroma of the beer nor see it's color from the bottle. The correct glass not only releases the qualities we enjoy in beer; aroma, carbonation, flavor, but it just adds to the fun. A nice glass feels good in the hand. My assemblage of glassware has outgrown the kitchen cabinet space available so some of it is relegated to a shelf in the basement until it's needed. I think we are collectors by nature, so it shouldn't be a surprise when our collection of glassware grows over time. Why should wine drinkers have all the fun?