Belgian Beer Glasses

**Andre** · 03-07-2012, 12:11 PM

So do any of you Belgian fans ALSO insist that your beer be served in the proper shaped glass, if not the official glass of that brewery?

I have at least one of all my favorites:
Orval
Trappiste Rochefort
St. Bernardus
Chimay
Kasteel
Duvel
Piraat
Gulden Draak
Kwak
Petrus
Stella chalice

I also have some generic wheat beer glasses and Pilsners. I serve others in either an appropriately correct selection from the above, or a large wine tulip.

**wimbouman** · 03-07-2012, 12:27 PM

Not exactly insist, but I do appreciate it.
It is really classy when the beer and the glass match.

What any good bar ought to do IMHO is to at least use the correct type of glasses.
No 'dubbels' in pilzner glasses!

**Greyfox** · 03-07-2012, 01:23 PM

I want all Belgian style ales in a chalice. I have several but I tend to almost always use the Orval chalice as it just seems to make all those beers sing.

**talibeard** · 03-07-2012, 02:31 PM

You just have to love that 'Kwak' glass!

**Andre** · 03-07-2012, 02:43 PM

I love the Orval chalice. It is matched by the elegance of the Kasteel chalice (the larger one with the castle on the stem) if you don't yet have one of those. It has those same internal (for lack of a better word) frames or spokes, and is just a really nice shape. (all the better if you like Kasteel, which I do. I always thought that Kasteel brown was how Guinness should have tasted, but somehow doesn't even remotely...).

The Kwak glass is cool, but I think it's largely a novelty item. It doesn't actually seem to do much for the beer, which winds up have about zero surface area most of the time. I usually use it, just because it's a geeky thing to do, but it's probably better served by a tulip.

**superbleu** · 03-07-2012, 02:54 PM

Would love to see a picture of all your glasses Andre!

For me, they taste fine out of a plastic party cup, not very classy, but then I have more money to spend on beer.

**Andre** · 03-07-2012, 03:01 PM

A picture just doesn't do them justice. Check out the glaases link on https://globalbeer.3dcartstores.com/ for the variety of shapes.

Even if you DO prefer the Red Solo Cup route (as does Toby Keith), you might want to pick up a couple of Belgian tulips (like the one for Piraat), which are good for about any good beer. (If it doesn't taste good in a tulip, it's just not good beer!)

**Luc** · 03-07-2012, 04:03 PM

It depends where I go. If I end up in a Belgian beer place, I'm expecting to get the right glass. If I don't, I'll say it, that's for sure. If I end up at the local pub that has only the big brands, I won't make a fuss about it. I do like the right glass...

**xXClockwork** · 03-07-2012, 06:21 PM

I won't drink Guinness from the pub if it isn't in the tulip pint with a two part pour. That is probably the most snobbish I am with any drink. I am definitely looking to grab a couple of glasses to enjoy my recently found love for Trappist and Abbey brews.

**Edcculus** · 03-07-2012, 07:01 PM

I love all of the different Belgian glasses. Obviously its a bit of a marketing ploy by the breweries, but a fun one at that. I'm a huge beer guy, and there is something to be said about serving in proper glasses. When I'm rich and famous, I'll have a beer tasting room with a wall filled with every glass imaginable....

If you don't have the money to own every breweries glass, its always good to keep at least a few (real) Pint glasses, a goblet or two, some tulip glasses, some pilsner and hefe glasses and some champagne flutes. Some Belgians can be served in wine glasses in a pinch too.

Anything but those forsaken Shaker Glasses (or water glasses) places try to pass off as pint glasses....

**cwhiteboy** · 03-07-2012, 08:07 PM

In case anyone was wondering. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/101/glassware . A list and description of the different types of drinking glasses. My cabinet is full of almost all of these, as well as a "guide to beer glasses" on the back of the cabinet door for friends ;) . To me though, the glass comes second to the proper serving temperature. I always get a kick out of the look on servers faces when I ask for a non-chilled or even warm glass. They always think i'm nuts, asking me why I don't want my beer ice cold, and I always respond with "I want to taste my beer, otherwise I would have ordered the piss in a can".

**jd_1138** · 03-07-2012, 09:07 PM

Around here there are a few bars and pubs which have done away with draft beer entirely and just serve bottles and cans. I won't go to those places. And it's weird walking into a quality pub with great beers on draft and bartenders who know how to pour, but 99% of the patrons are drinking Coors light or Bud out of bottles. People!

**Andre** · 03-08-2012, 05:32 AM

Or worse, bartenders/waitstaff that don't know the importance of head on beer, and don't know how to pour a beer to get a head.

I was in a place that actually served Kasteel in bottle. She insisted that it wouldn't make a head (after I politely suggested she give it a finger or two of head if possible). The way she poured it wouldn't have raised a head on a Duvel! (for the uninitiated, Duvel heads up big just by looking at it). The problem is that they often seem to think they are doing you a favor by not allowing your beer foam to take up any glass space. Of course this likely is the result of customers who complain if they do.

So I just appreciate what I can when I'm out, and drink my real beers in a real way at home. Like a civilized hermit.

**ouch** · 03-08-2012, 06:13 AM

Andre! Where the heck have you been?

I don't have too many, but I have a Rodenbach and an Ayinger Celebrator. Don't have a Petrus glass, but I have a bottle.

**talibeard** · 03-08-2012, 08:05 AM

Originally Posted by Andre

The Kwak glass is cool, but I think it's largely a novelty item. It doesn't actually seem to do much for the beer, which winds up have about zero surface area most of the time. I usually use it, just because it's a geeky thing to do, but it's probably better served by a tulip.

Actually it is the 'table-version' of a coach drivers' glass. The wooden standard was part of the bench on the coach so the driver could still have his glass of beer on a bumpy road (and there was a time all roads were bumpy) without the chance on the glass dropping or beer being spilled. For use at home it doesn't have any benefits but there is a bit of history involved here!

**Andre** · 03-08-2012, 08:22 AM

Originally Posted by ouch

Andre! Where the heck have you been?

I don't have too many, but I have a Rodenbach and an Ayinger Celebrator. Don't have a Petrus glass, but I have a bottle.

I a bottle of Rodenbach Grand Cru in the fridge as we speak...

Don't have that glass though. Usually just use a big tulip for it and the other Flemmish reds (other than Petrus).

**Kazeryu** · 03-13-2012, 03:40 PM

I have a few of the brand-specific glasses, but most things* get drunk out of my 'generic beer glasses' - according to this site they are Weizen Glasses.
*beers or beer-like things, obviously excluding fine spirits

Since I drink ales, wheat beers, and ciders almost exclusively, they work pretty well for me as a default choice.

The only exception is beers on the lees like Blanche de Chambly. Those I prefer to drink - and hear me out on this one - straight from the bottle. If you pour one into a glass, you'll either miss out on most of the lees (puddled on the bottom) or end up distributing them evenly throughout the whole beer (if you gently swirl before pouring).

But if you drink it from the bottle, the beer changes over time - each tip of the bottle mixes a little bit more of the lees into the beer, so that the drinking experience starts light and finishes heavy. I like the evolution as you work through the bottle.