When I started writing this column a year ago, I promised myself I wouldn't become a beer snob.
I may have broken that vow recently when I recoiled at the sight of a bartender pouring my beer into a frozen pint glass.
I used to think frosty glasses made beer better. Fact is, ice-cold temperatures mask many of the aroma and flavor nuances in just about any beer, and most brews benefit from a few minutes or more out of the fridge before they display their full potential. So when the bartender took that icy glass to the tap, I politely intervened and asked him to use a room-temperature glass instead.
Snobby, right? Maybe not.
I consider a beer snob to be someone who tells you their beer is better than yours but doesn't care to explain why. There is a big difference between that and being enthusiastic about beer and wanting to get the most out of the experience.
Things like serving temperature and proper glassware are a big part of my enjoyment of beer now. In the spirit of enthusiasm, not snobbery, here's a primer to selecting the right type of glass to bring out the best qualities of different beer styles. But please: Don't put them in the freezer before using.
• Weizen: Wheat, or "weizen," beers are beautiful to look at thanks to their unfiltered haziness, and they often have pillowy heads that release aromas of banana and clove. Weizen glasses are long and curvy, with a narrow base and a flared yet tapered top. The glass allows "the colorful hues and immense foam heads of the hefeweizen style ample room to display their beauty," Andy Crouch writes in "Great American Craft Beer," available in August (Running Press, $22.95). Three to try: Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat, Bell's Oberon, Anchor Summer Beer.
• Tulip: I love my tulip glasses and their ability to turn any beer into an elegant sight and sensory adventure. A stem lets drinkers hold the glass without transferring hand heat to the beer, and a slim part just below the mouth holds foam and aromas. "A tulip glass creates more of a head, thus increasing the aroma," says Mark Pruitt, owner of Bigelo's Bistro in Edwardsville, which is investing in more tulip glasses. "More aroma will enhance beers like American IPAs, double IPAs and pretty much every Belgian-style beer." Three to try: Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza, Schlafly AIPA, Lagunitas Hop Stoopid.
• Nonic pint: Most bars serve beer in conical, 16-ounce shaker pints (often frozen) because they are durable and easy to stack. But their wide mouths and thick glass don't do the beer any favors. Nonic pints have a bulge near the top to help retain a beer's head and make it easier to hold. "In a busy brewery-restaurant, durability is important — we don't want to be breaking a lot of glasses," says Dan Kopman, co-founder of the St. Louis Brewery, which serves many of its Schlafly beers in nonic pints at the downtown Tap Room and Maplewood's Bottleworks. "It was important to us to find something that would stand up to everyday use without tainting or dulling the flavors of our beers." Schlafly is hosting a sold-out beer glassware event Thursday at Bottleworks with glassmaker Spiegelau, and Kopman says another one is in the works. Three to try: Founders Red's Rye, New Belgium Fat Tire, Budweiser American Ale.
• Snifter: The big-boy beers — barleywines, imperials and other high-alcohol styles — belong in snifters, glasses like fishbowls that usually are reserved for after-dinner drinks. Well, beer is an after-dinner drink, too, and snifters allow ample room for swirling, thus allowing the aromas to hit your nose between savored sips. Three to try: Southern Tier Mokah, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Bell's Third Coast Old Ale.
