You’ve been drinking beer in the wrong glass all this time – and the right one will surprise you
A booze connoisseur shares her expertise on how drinking beer from a pint glass is wrong and tells us what we should be using
TUCKING into a beer in the traditional pint glass could become a thing of the past if we want to get the best taste.
That’s according to the founder of the School of Booze, Jane Peyton, who says beer should be drunk from a narrow rimmed glass, like a flute.
The unorthodox view will offend some pub-goers, who would prefer to drink their booze by the pints even if they do cost and arm and a leg.
Jane told the Sun Online: “Drinking from a pint glass does the beer a disservice.
“They have a very wide mouth so most people will glug beer and swallow it before tasting because the size of the glass is so big.
“Narrow-rimmed glasses like a flute or a Peroni glass will force you to sip the beer and taste the malty flavour on your tongue.”
Jane’s comments will confuse beer drinkers in the know about how grooves on the bottom a pint glass add to the taste of the beer.
These are called nucleation points, which makes the carbon dioxide bubbles in the beer bounce off them and bring flavour to the surface.
But Jane points out that this only works on fizzy beers, so if Guinness is your tipple then the pint glass isn’t doing your drink justice.
Not everyone around the world serves beer in a wide mouthed glass. In Belgium they have different shaped glasses depending on the beer and in Germany drinkers often opt for a tall narrow glass.
In the UK, beer was traditionally poured into a tankard before serving beer in pint-sized measurements became law in 1824.
“People don’t treat beer with respect,” said Jane, “and people who say beer is only for men? Give me a break!
“Glassware is a barrier to many women drinking beer, but it doesn’t have to be.
“If more people drank beer from a narrower glass then maybe it wouldn’t put so many women off.”
What type of glass should you drink your beer from?
THE shape of beer glass you drink from depends on the type of booze you’re drinking. According to Jane Peyton, here’s the glassware you should be using.
- Pilsner larger, like Fuller's Frontier, is a carbonated beer which is what gives it its fizz. This is best sipped from a tall narrow glass, like a Peroni glass or a flute.
- Pale ales and stouts like Guinness should be served in a round snifter glass, which resembles a large brand glass.
- Bitter beers like Young’s Bitter or Harveys Best are better drunk from a traditional pint glass, to give more flavour to the hoppy taste.
Of course, Jane accepts that drinking from a glass that makes you feel comfortable is also important and will also change the way you taste of the beer.
“I drink beer out of flutes too as an aperitif. Bitterness stimulates the appetite so a delicious bitter IPA in an elegant flute is perfect."
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If you would like to take Jane up on her advice and try beer in a flute, it’s worth noting that you won’t be able to order it the bar.
It is against the law for pubs in the UK to serve beer in anything but pint or half pint sizes.
The shocking news comes shortly after we reported that champagne or prosecco shouldn’t be sipped from a flute either.
Instead, fizzy alcohol is better sipped from a tulip shaped wine glass so that the aroma carried in the rising bubbles will catch in your nose, adding to the taste.
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