Beer Glasses
Beginners Guide to Types of Beer Glasses
Just like wine glasses, beer glasses come in a variety of shapes and sizes to compliment your chosen beer, lager or ale. Beer, lager and ale can be served in virtually any glass but choosing the best beer glass for your beer variety can instantly enhance the flavour, aroma and colour of your beer. Whether you're a home drinker or a pub landlord, you'll want to get the most benefits out of your chosen glassware, so you'll need to know the difference between your standard tulip beer glass and your German pilsner beer glass.
Beer glasses are not only defined by their style and shape but also their various features. While delicate glasses may offer finer rims for tasting, toughened beer glasses are often popular with public houses due to their longer lifespan and glass safety.
Nucleated Beer GlassesAnother popular feature of modern beer glasses is a nucleated base, such as Arcoroc's Head-On-It glasses and Head First glasses. A nucleated glass features very small pits which allow the gas to be more readily released, which helps preserve the head of the beer. The two common types of nucleation are a laser etched nucleated base which offers optimum nucleation or a printed nucleated base which stands out more making it ideal for customisation and branding. |  |
Nonic Beer GlassesA classic beer glass, the Nonic is commonly used in pubs and bars in the UK due to its stackable design and durable finish. The bulge in the glass allows it to be easily stacked without sticking and allows for extra grip when condensation hits. The word Nonic derives from the term 'no nick' and is named so because of its chip resistant design. |  |
Conical Beer GlassesAnother popular pub glass, the Conical glasses are aptly named after their inverted truncated cone shape. They are chosen for their durability rather their tasting benefits and are used for serving up some of the most common beer brands. The wide mouth makes the Conical suitable for many English types of ale as it allows for larger sips of your beer. |  |
Tulip Beer GlassesCommonly used for serving Guinness and other dry stouts, the Tulip beer glass has now become a classic pub glass. Chosen for their looks rather than their tasting benefits, Tulip glasses are often made from toughened glass which makes them a practical choice for serving pints. |  |
Tankard Beer GlassesThe traditional handled tankard is still popular today and comes in many different forms. The classic British dimpled mug is a firm favourite among beer clinkers due to their sturdy design. Beer mugs are made from a variety of materials, including glass tankards, pewter tankards and ceramic tankards. Popular at beer festivals such as Oktoberfest, the German beer stein or seidel often holds a larger volume of beer and may feature a lid which was traditionally used to keep bugs out. |  |
Pilsner Beer GlassesMany brands of German wheat beers and Belgium beers choose the Pilsner glass, partly due to the elegant shape but mainly because they emphasize the characteristics of the beer. A Pilsner beer glass often holds smaller volumes than a standard pint glass making them suited to serving bottled beer. The Pilsner beer glass has a tall, slender shape to emphasise the colour and carbonation of the beer, with a broad top to help maintain the beer's head. A similar style to the Pilsner glass is the Weizen beer glass, specially designed to compliment wheat beer. |  |
Stemmed Beer GlassesStemmed beer glasses either come in a Tulip shape, Chalice shape or Goblet shape and are often designed to be held by the stem to prevent your hand warming the beer. The Tulip stemmed glass commonly features an elegant design with a bulbous body and tapered rim. This Tulip shape helps aroma and head retention making it suited to serving ales, IPAs and other aromatic beers. A Chalice glass will commonly have a thicker glass construction with heavyweight decorated stems and often feature a nucleated base for better head retention. A beer goblet is similar in design with a red wine glass, featuring a wide bowl and delicate glass construction. Both Chalice glasses and Goblet glasses are commonly used for serving Belgium ales, abbey beers, German bocks and other big sipping beers. |  |
Novelty Beer GlassesMany novelty beer glasses have been designed for traditional pub games, such as the classic Yard of Ale Glass (1.42 litres) which is used in drinking feats. The current Guinness World Record for the fastest drinking of a yard of ale is 5 seconds. Another popular novelty glass for drinking games is the German Beer Boot or Bierstiefel, where players often take it in turns to drink as fast as they can. |  |
Beer Glasses
A favourite pastime for many, enjoying a good pint of beer is helped all the more by the type of glass you use. We offer a wide selection of cheap beer glasses, from classic pint glasses and stemmed beer glasses to branded beer glasses and novelty beer glasses. Ideal for giving as a gift, our selection of beer glasses can be delivered direct to your door, with our optional next day UK delivery service.
For those that love beer, the right glass is essential, which is why we have a great selection of beer tankards, beer mugs, novelty beer glasses, cool beer glasses, stemmed beer glasses, pint glasses and half pint glasses. Because everyone has different tastes, we offer a choice of branded beer glasses, including cider glasses, ale glasses, lager glasses and wheat beer glasses.
If you're hosting a large event or own a bar, we offer a range of toughened and tempered beer glasses suitable for commercial establishments, such as pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants. Our range of professional quality glassware includes CE marked beer glasses and LCE beer glasses. We also offer reusable plastic beer tumblers and disposable plastic beer tumblers for large events and outdoor use.
