What Glass Should I Use for Different Beers?

We reported a while back that bar glass shapes confuse even the most adept bartenders from time to time. The right glass can definitely enhance the drink you're serving - for example, red wine glasses are built for maximum surface area, letting the wine "breathe".

So how well do you know YOUR beer bar glasses?

Beers are generally served in the standard pint glasses you see at every bar. However, besides the standard pint glass, you may encounter:

Pints: Come in 2 shapes - regular pints and pub pints. They're beer glasses with slightly tapered walls, and a pub pint has a ridge around the top. Pint glasses come in two sizes: Imperial 20 ounce glasses or US 16 ounce pints.

Pilsner Glasses: A long, narrow glass with walls that taper towards the base. Used to consolidate volatiles and support delicate heads of pilsners and other lagers. These may be tall (imperial pint size) or short (weisen glasses). They may also feature a short stem and be "footed".

Seidel or Stein: German-style mugs, often 1/2 liter volume, with handles and thick walls that maintain a cool temperature. An earthenware, ceramic, or metal version is called a stein.

Goblet, Schooner or Chalice: Wide-mouthed, bowl-like, stemmed glass, generally used for serving abbey-style ales. Like tulip glasses, they are often etched to stimulate carbonation. These are also considered schooner glasses - which are often confused with the shorter pilsner or weisen glasses.

Tulip glass: These are much the same shape as the above schooner or goblet - bulbous with a smaller mouth and short stem, that support large heads of artisanal Belgian ales, or any beer you might "swirl". These glasses have etching on the bottom of the inside of the glass, that help stimulate carbonation which allows the beer to keep its head.

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AACEA provides alcohol server training which promotes responsible service and sales of alcohol. To get your alcohol servers permit in Washington visit www.aacea.com