The 7 Best Beer Glasses, According to a Brewing Expert
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Our list includes expert recommendations for every type of brew, from pilsners to porters.
Whether your drink of choice is an aromatic wine, an elegant cocktail, or a cold beer, you'll need the proper glass for serving and savoring that beverage. From stouts to sours, there's an ideal vessel for every type and style of beer, each designed to enhance flavor and aroma to maximize your overall drinking experience. But which are actually the best beer glasses? We tapped a brewing expert to help us find out.
According to Shawn Moen, co-founder of 9 Mile Legacy Brewing in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: "A beer glass should fit comfortably in your hand and be of a size and shape that best accentuates the qualities of a beer." Moen's favorite is the Willi Becher style of pint glass, designed in Germany in 1954. "Its shape concentrates the bouquet of the beer but still has a great pub feel," he says.
There are plenty of great glassware options to choose from, though, so grab a cold one from your beer fridge, and let's dig in. Here are the best beer glasses for serving and enjoying your favorite type of brew.
Best Overall: Libbey Craft Pub Beer Glasses, Set of 4
Pros
This is a quality set of timeless glassware at a reasonable price.
Cons
Buying a set may be inconvenient if you're just looking for one glass.
These Willi Becher-style beer glasses have a versatile shape that suits lagers, ales, sours, stouts — or anything else you'd like to pour inside, honestly. The subtly curved shape showcases a beer's distinct aroma in an easy-to-hold, aesthetically pleasing package.
Libbey has been in the glassware game since 1818, steadily producing well-crafted, durable drinkware. These craft beer glasses are dishwasher-safe, and they hold a generous 20 ounces while the shape concentrates the head — that's the foamy bit at the top of a freshly poured beer — and tapers off to deliver those lovely, hoppy scents right to your nose with every sip.
With their fair price, classic shape, and no-fuss cleanup, Libbey's craft pub glasses are an easy pick for our best overall beer glass.
Price at time of publish: $35
Quantity: 4
Capacity: 20 ounces
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Best Value: Libbey Pint Glass
Pros
This is a set of straightforward, stackable beer glasses at a great price.
Cons
12 glasses may be overkill.
If you're looking for a real bang for your buck, this set of 12 of Libbey's standard pint glasses should do the trick. These glasses feature heat-treated DuraTuff rims, which means they're safe for the dishwasher, stacking in a cupboard, and using while doing things like cooking or entertaining (perhaps even with beer!) your clumsiest friends.
Should 12 pint glasses feel like a bit much for your household — though it's worth remembering that this basic glassware is ideal for far more than just beer — Libbey also sells them in a set of four for just $15.
Price at time of publish: $35
Quantity: 12
Capacity: 16 ounces
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Best for IPAs and Specialty Brews: Rastal Teku Stemmed Beer Glass
Pros
This is an elegant piece of glassware that is purpose-built for hop-forward beers.
Cons
Buying one glass at a time can get pricey.
Looking to enjoy an ultra-hoppy IPA or a specialty beer that doesn't slot into any particular genre? Pull out the stemware. "When I want to communicate an experience that has a degree of grandeur and refinement, then I'll look for a stemmed beer glass with a robust body and a slightly concentrated opening," says Moen.
Not only does a stemmed beer glass like the Rastal Teku look nice — and yes, reminiscent of a wine glass — its elegance serves a real function to help you make the most of your craft brew. Holding the glass by the stem helps avoid prematurely warming your beer with your hand, and the reduced rim diameter maintains the beer's head, effectively capturing aromas so you can catch every nuance. This style of beer glass is equally great for sours, hazys, and pale ales.
Though this glass is sold individually, you can also purchase the Rastal Teku 3.0 as a set of four.
Price at time of publish: $68
Quantity: 1
Capacity: 14 ounces
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Best for Pilsners: Crystalia Tall-Footed Pilsner Glass
Pros
This is a set of proper pilsner glasses at a fair price.
Cons
Tall glassware can be tricky to clean and store.
Pilsner was created in the Czech town of Pilsen in 1842, and, at some point in subsequent years, the pilsner glass was developed to show off the beer's clarity. A pilsner really does taste best out of a proper pilsner glass, and this set of four from Crystalia is comfortable to hold and a pleasure to sip from. These glasses have the advantage of being dishwasher-safe and can easily run double-duty as highball glasses if cocktails are on order for the evening instead of beer.
Price at time of publish: $34
Quantity: 4
Capacity: 13.5 ounces
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Best for Wheats: Spiegelau Beer Classics Hefeweizen Glass, Set of 4
Pros
These glasses are German-made and purpose-built.
Cons
Wheat glasses are limiting, as they are intended only for serving wheat beers.
Order a Weizen in Germany, and it will most assuredly be served to you in a proper wheat beer glass — just like this set from Spiegelau. Germans take their glassware very seriously, and these purpose-built glasses are designed to capture aromas, keep the beer at a steady temperature, and allow for sediment to settle nicely at the bottom.
You can certainly pour anything you like into a wheat glass, but ideally, this one is a one-trick pony. If Hefeweizen isn't among your preferred styles of beer, you're probably fine to skip these.
Price at time of publish: $50
Quantity: 4
Capacity: 27.5 ounces
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Best "Stein": HB Hofbräuhaus München Dimpled Beer Glass
Pros
It's the 1-liter mug from one of Munich's most recognizable brands.
Cons
A liter-sized glass just isn't always practical.
We've put quotes around the word because this style of beer glass is not, in fact, a stein. Stein is a German word for stone, and a true Bierstein is made from stoneware, not glass. The generously proportioned glass mug selected here, however, is referred to as a Maß (pronounced "mahss"), or a "measure" of beer.
The Maßkrug, or "measure jug," if you really want to break it down, is the typical beer mug of Oktoberfest and other festivals throughout Germany, but a liter is quite a lot of beer, and a glass like this is best purchased as a novelty item rather than an everyday vessel.
Price at time of publish: $23
Quantity: 1
Capacity: 1 liter
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Best Splurge: Holmegaard Humle Stout Beer Glasses Holmegaard Humle Stout Beer Glasses
Pros
This Danish-designed glassware suits stouts and other strong beers.
Cons
It's a bit pricey for a set of four pieces.
Our splurge pick is also our pick as the best glass for stouts and porters. The Holmegaard Humle stout glass is carefully crafted with a robust bowl that collects aromas and lets them gather at the rim, while the stocky shape allows for swirling beer with ease. This beer glass is perfect for high-alcohol beers and other rich, sippable brews.
These top-quality glasses are fire-cut and hand-polished, which means you'll want to wash them by hand to avoid damage, but at this price point, you'd probably want to avoid the dishwasher anyway.
Price at time of publish: $30
Quantity: 4
Capacity: 16 ounces
Dishwasher-Safe: No
Our Favorite Beer Glass
The Libbey Craft Pub Beer Glasses are our pick for best overall, thanks to their quality, versatility, and accessible price point. For an elegant glass that equally suits a variety of beer styles, we like the Rastal Teku 3.0 Stemmed Beer Glass.
Factors to Consider
Shape
When shopping for a special glass, it's worth considering the types of beers you most enjoy drinking. For example, there's no sense in buying a set of wheat beer glasses if you only enjoy sours; and similarly, if you're passionate about pilsners, it's worth investing in a traditional pilsner glass. At the end of the day, however, glassware is a personal choice. As Moen enthuses, "The best beer glass is the one that holds your favorite beer!"
Capacity
Think about how much beer you like to drink in one sitting, and go from there. While large capacity is appreciated, a liter-sized mug is probably overkill for at-home beer drinking. If you tend to entertain often, consider purchasing a set instead of one-off glasses.
Durability
If you are prone to being less-than-careful with your glassware, look for a glass with thick glass walls that can withstand some action. In addition, thicker or double-walled glass does a better job of maintaining cooler temperatures. That said, there is something to be said about thin glass when it comes to drinkware, which is known for enhancing the beer’s flavors. Either way, make sure you are comfortable with your glasses' required cleaning.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular beer glass?
As Moen says any glass that holds your beer is likely to be popular at the moment you need one, but the Willi Becher and standard pint glass are enduring favorites, thanks to their reliability.
Do beer glasses really make a difference?
"Beer glass shape is one part tradition, one part aesthetic, and one part sensory accentuation," explains Moen. "Each of those aspects contributes greatly to the beer-drinking experience." If you don't buy into the hype of different-shaped glasses, that's okay, too, but Moen encourages you to experiment. "Try the same beer in different glasses to see how different attributes present."
Above all, Moen says it's most important to have fun with the process. "Remember that beer is meant to be enjoyed with good friends and merriment. Don't overthink it!"
How many ounces are in a beer glass?
While 16- to 20-ounce glasses are quite common, the beer glasses we've recommended here range from 13 ounces to nearly 40 ounces.
Our Expertise
This article was written by Summer Rylander, a food and travel journalist who has written about food, beverage, and cooking products for Food & Wine, Allrecipes, Serious Eats, and The Kitchn. She made her selections based on in-depth research, hands-on testing, and conversation with experts. Summer also lives in Germany — more specifically, in a region with the country's highest density of breweries per capita — where she regularly enjoys beer served in glassware that is appropriate for the style.
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