Beer Glass Types: The Ultimate Guide to 20 Most Famous Beer Glasses

When it comes to beer glass types, there is a multitude of options available because every beer has a certain dedicated glass type in which it should be poured.

There are several reasons why beers should be poured into their respective glassware — it is not only about how the beer looks but also how it tastes and the aromas it gives away.

The type of glass can also determine how much you will enjoy a certain style of beer. In this complete guide, we present you with the different types of beer glasses and what they are most suited for.

Beer Glass Type	Appropriate Beer Styles
Weizen Glass	Hefeweizen, Wheat Ale, Weizenbock, Dunkelweizen, Kristalweizen
American Pint Glass	All-purpose glass; it doesn’t have a dedicated beer style
Nonic Pint Glass	British ales and lagers — Pale ale, India Pale Ale, Oatmeal Stout, Porter, Milk Stout, Scotch Ale
Pilsner Glass	Pilsners, American adjunct lagers, Bock, Helles bock, Vienna lager, Blonde ale, Japanese rice lager
Tulip Glass — Belgian Glass	Belgian strong ale, Belgian dark ale, Belgian pale ale, Belgian IPA, Flanders red ale, Saison, American wild ale
Goblet Glass	Dark Belgian beers, Belgian IPA’s, double, triple or quad beers
Chalice Glass	Similar to Goblet beers and German Bocks
Thistle Glass	Scottish ales and wee heavy
Stout Glass	Almost all types of stouts
Classic Beer Mug	German, American, English and Irish beers
Tasting Glass	Any variety of beer
Glass Beer Boots	Oktoberfest, Witbier, German beer
Stange Glass	Bocks, Kolsch, Gose, Pilsners and Rauchbier
IPA Glass	All types of IPAs
Stein	Oktoberfest beer styles
Oktoberfest Mug	All types of Oktoberfest beers, wheat beers and pale ales
Dimpled Mug	Wheat beers and ales
Yard Glass	Blonde ales and lighter beers
Hopside Down Glass	Pale and Blonde ales
Flute Glass	Fruit beers, homebrews and beers with high floral and fruity esters

Types of Beer Glasses

Weizen Glass, Pilsner Glass and Tulip Glass are just some of the many available beer glass styles, and there is a reason why there are so many different beer glasses available around the world. The right glass can help you enjoy your beer to the fullest.

It helps release the right aromas and fragrances, showcase the color, and overall make the beer taste better. The right type of glassware can help you take your beer tasting experience to a whole other level.

In the olden days, every type of beer had a designated vessel made of glass. The old cups were made from stone, wood and leather and date back to 9,000 B.C. With evolving time and as glassmaking techniques improved, glass became the opted material for beer glasses.

Here is a complete beer glassware guide telling you everything about the different beer glass shapes and the right beer suited for each.

1. Weizen Glass

These glasses are specially used for wheat beers. Oftentimes, this glass is mistaken for a pilsner glass, but the difference between them is that pilsner glasses have angled sides, whereas Weizen glasses have a curve around the sides to them.

A typical Weizen glass is lengthy and has thin walls featuring the beautiful color of wheat beers. The style also allows the drinker to enjoy the official wheat beer aromas of banana and slight citrus and clove. It also gives plenty of space for its thick, cloudy head.

• Appropriate beer styles: This is suited for Hefeweizen, Wheat Ale, Weizenbock, Dunkelweizen, Kristalweizen.

2. American Pint Glass

This is by far the most popular type of beer glass. It is almost cylindrical or conical in shape, slightly wider on the top and narrower on the base. It is perfect for a typical 16 ounce American pint.

Almost every bar across the United States has this on their shelf. It is an easy and inexpensive glass to manufacture and even easier to clean and maintain, which is why most American bars serve a variety of beers in these glasses.

Although this is the most used beer glass across the world, it is not a specialized glass and won’t bring out the best qualities of your beer like a Pilsner or a Tulip glass would. The main reason is its ultra-wide top. The glass is wide at the top, making the beer lose a lot of its aroma. These glasses are mostly available in glass, crystal or acrylic.

• Appropriate beer styles: It is an all-purpose glass. It doesn’t have a dedicated beer style.

3. Nonic Pint Glass

This is a sub-type under the classic American pint glasses. This is not any specialty glass, except for the look and the feel of it. It is a conical glass with a small bulge midway from the top. This bulge doesn’t serve much purpose, except that the glass won’t slip and fall because of the extra grip.

• Appropriate beer style: Same as an American pint glass. It is also the go-to glass for British ales and lagers like Pale ale, India Pale Ale, Oatmeal Stout, Porter, Milk Stout, Scotch Ale and the like.

4. Pilsner Glass

This is one of the most popular beer glass styles. These glasses are perfect for a lighter beer like Pilsner. The shape of the glass allows the beer to stay carbonated. They are deeply conical in shape and every sip you take is delicious.

The glass is broad at the top, skinny and tall in body with a foot at the base. This glass makes the beer sparkle, look clear and allow the bubbles to be visible.

The narrower foot of the glass allows the aromas and flavors of the beer to be locked in, giving a fulfilling beer tasting experience. It holds around 12-14 ounces of beer. Footed pilsners are best known for European pilsners.

• Appropriate beer style: This type of glass is best used for Pilsners, American adjunct lagers, Bock, Helles bock, Vienna lager, Blonde ale, Japanese rice lager.

5. Tulip Glass – Belgian Glass

This type of glass begins rounded at the base under which there is a small stem. The glass opens wide and elongates at the mouth, while the body is bulbous and has a flared lip. These glasses are designed to capture the white of the beer, making it last longer and retaining the thickness. This promotes the aromas coming from the beers like that of a Belgian ale.

These glasses are good for malty, hoppy beers. The short stem at the base helps in swirling and further enhancing the taste of the beer, like that of a wine glass. The short stem also helps retain some of the heat from the hands, therefore keeping the beer chilled for a longer time.

• Appropriate beer style: This is best suited for Belgian strong ale, Belgian dark ale, Belgian pale ale, Belgian IPA, Flanders red ale, Saison, American wild ale and the like.

6. Goblet Glass

This glass looks like a large bowl in the form of a glass. It has a thick stem, a large head retaining a round bowl. These glasses are extremely decorative, featuring simple minimalistic finishing to intricate etching and engraving. The big wide mouth promotes hearty sips, giving an overall ecstatic beer drinking experience.

The long stem ensures the beer remains chilled for a longer time. When picking the right goblet glass, it is important to pick a good size to avoid repetitive fillings of the same drink.

• Appropriate beer style: It is best suited for dark Belgian beers, Belgian IPA’s, double, triple or quad beers.

7. Chalice Glass

Chalice glasses are similar to goblet glasses. The term chalice is interchangeably used for the goblet. Most of the time, it is difficult to see them apart, but one striking difference between the two is the length of the stem.

A chalice glass has a smaller stem size and has thinner walls than goblet glasses. These are great for a good vintage collection of glasses, and best used for hearty beers.

• Appropriate beer style: This type is similar to Goblet beers and German Bocks.

8. Thistle Glass

These glasses are a little shorter than tulip glasses and have a larger bulge at the base. A thistle glass has a short stem and an elongated top body. This type of glass traps the aromas of a beer and enhances the drinking experience. This glass doesn’t have a curved lip like the tulip but has a straight, more crisp edge.

• Appropriate beer style: It is best used for Scottish ales and wee heavy.

9. Stout Glass

This is one type of glass that is engineered with extreme precision for the purpose of enjoying beers better. The shape of the glass is best suited for coffee and chocolate-flavored dark stouts. The shape of the base and the angle of the glass accelerates flavors of coffee and roasted malts. The glass has a narrow mouth which promotes good head retention.

• Appropriate beer style: These are best suited for almost all types of stouts.

10. Cassic Beer Mug

This type of glass is the best to use if your concern is to keep your beer chilled until the last sip. This glass style has a handle to hold so you don’t have to hold it by the body of the glass, keeping any heat from the hands away from warming the drink. This is one of the most preferred glasses to drink beers in. It is sturdy, thick, strong and looks very masculine.

These mugs are extremely popular in Germany, England and America and come in various shapes and sizes. These are classic pub glassware, easy to make, easy to maintain and easy to drink in.

• Appropriate beer style: This is best suited for German, American, English and Irish beers.

11. Tasting Glass

Tasting glasses are small in size and are served in microbreweries offering a varied section of homebrews. These are also known as sampler glasses.

Many brewery tours also serve beers in these glasses. Most tasting glasses hold about 2.5 to 5 ounces of beer. This helps sample many beers at the same time. These glasses are extremely simple and minimalistic in form and easy to clean as well.

• Appropriate beer style: Any variety of beer can be served in these types of glasses.

12. Glass Beer Boots

This glass is very popular at beer festivals and parties across the world. This type of drinkware also has a long history with soldiers enjoying their beers post-wartime. It is important to know how to drink properly from these glasses to avoid spilling the drink all over yourself. It is best to hold the glass with the boot pointing towards you instead of away.

This glass has a history instilled in the Bavarian beer culture. Legend says that a Prussian general promised his soldiers he would drink beer from his leather boots as they touched victory on the battlefield.

To avoid drinking beer smelling like feet, he made a glass shaped like a boot. Since that time, glass beer boots have become famous and seen as extremely macho-like; it has also found fame in various Oktoberfest events.

• Appropriate beer style: Oktoberfest, Witbier, German beer are best suited for these glasses.

13. Stange Glass

This glass gets its name from the German word meaning pole as it is straight, minimalistic and narrow. It looks like a long cylinder, and the stange preserves carbonation, hop aromas and allows for a tall and frothy white head.

• Appropriate beer style: Delicate beers like Bocks, Kolsch, Gose, Pilsners and Rauchbier are best served in these.

14. IPA Glass

The IPA glasses are a recent addition to the otherwise long list of beer glasses. These glasses became popular in 2013 and are strictly meant for extremely hoppy beers. The glass resembles both an elongated goblet and a stout glass except IPA glasses have ridges at their base.

These glasses release beautiful aromas from loud hoppy beers, enhancing the overall tasting and drinking experience. These glasses also release carbonation and push the bubbles up to the brim.

• Appropriate beer style: These glasses are suited for all types of IPAs.

15. Stein

Now we are moving away from the glass category and on to the mug category. These mugs are ornamental, are delicately designed and engraved on the outside and are made from stone, silver, wood, glass and porcelain. This drinkware has a lid and is used as an ornamental piece more than for drinking purposes.

• Appropriate beer style: These are best for Oktoberfest beer styles.

16. Oktoberfest Mug

These are massively sized mugs that can hold up to 33 ounces of beer. They are sturdy, strong and thick. The thick walls help keep the beer chilled for a long time while the handle helps in handling the big mug easily.

Because of their sizes, these glasses are difficult to maintain and store. Nonetheless, these are some of the best conversation starters.

• Appropriate beer style: These are best suited for all types of Oktoberfest beers, wheat beers and pale ales.

17. Dimpled Mug

A subcategory under the large varieties of beer mugs, a dimpled mug is an extremely sturdy mug. It is easy to hold, and as Americans believe, equally masculine.

The walls of this mug are slightly curved and not completely cylindrical. They have dimples on the walls, which not only help with a better grip on the glass and avoid any spilling accidents, but they also help in measuring how much beer is poured.

These glasses are best for parties where you want to keep track of how much beer is being poured. These are short, stout mugs unlike taller tumblers and are rather easier to hold.

• Appropriate beer style: Any beer can be poured into these mugs. It is most commonly used for wheat beers and ales.

18. Yard Glass

This glass looks like a chemistry lab apparatus. These are extremely tall in body and are often suspended on a wooden holder (similar to a test-tube holder). It can hold up to 2.5 pints of beer. These glasses come in various diameters, and the actual volume of beer depends on the diameter of the glass.

The glass is the shape of a bulb at the base, has a tall narrow body and a wide shaft at the head. These glasses are difficult to hold, clean and maintain and are often subjected to breaking easily, which is why most bars don’t use them. These glasses are mostly seen in Oktoberfests and bigger celebrations.

• Appropriate beer style: These glasses are best suited for Blonde ales and lighter beers.

19. Hopside Down Glass

This type of beer glass is unique, fancy-looking and rather lesser-known. It has a clever and fascinating shape. It makes for an excellent gift or a housewarming present as it adds up to a fancy-looking drinkware collection.

It is shaped like an upside-down beer bottle within a conical pint glass. The gap between the actual drinking body and the conical outer wall keeps the beer from warming up. This is an interesting hybrid of a pint glass that will give you the enjoyment of drinking beer without worrying about quickly warming up the drink.

• Appropriate beer style: These are best suited for Pale and Blonde ales.

20. Flute Glass

These are extremely classy glasses that are usually used to pour champagne or sparkling wines, but what’s the harm in using these for beers every once in a while? They have a long stem that keeps the temperature of the beer in check.

These glasses serve great carbonation thanks to their shape. They have a slightly shorter stem unlike that of champagne glasses, which is what differs between the two. The shape of the glass also accentuates the color of the beer, making it more fun to drink.

• Appropriate beer style: These glasses are best used for fruit beers, homebrews and beers with high floral and fruity esters.

FAQ

Can a wine glass be used in place of a beer glass?

Yes, a wine glass can be used in place of a beer glass, but the taste and experience may differ due to the glass shape and size.

What is the most common beer glass?

The most common beer glass is the pint glass, also known as the shaker glass, which is versatile and can be used for a wide range of beer styles.

What is the best beer glass to drink a pilsner from?

The best beer glass to drink a pilsner from is a tall, slim, and tapered pilsner glass, which enhances the aroma, carbonation, and color of the beer.

Conclusion

Ever since the existence of beers, there has been a vast development from era to era in the type of beer glassware used. From beer glass boots and tumblers to pint glasses, goblets and IPA glasses, beer drinkware has evolved with time, and most of these varieties can be seen all under one roof during the Oktoberfest season.

• American pint glasses are the most common type of glass found in every bar and household. They are easy to manufacture, serve, drink from and maintain.
• Tulip glasses are best for dark Belgian beers as they are hoppy and enhance the color of the beer.
• IPA glasses are the most recent addition to the type of beer glasses. They resemble both a goblet and a stout glass.
• The rarest type of beer glass is the yard glass. They are extremely difficult to handle, but they add up to fancy drinkware.

While it can be quite intimidating to understand which glass type is best suited for your favorite beer, some glass types do decide how you’re going to enjoy your beer. But most of these are all-rounder glasses and can be used for any and every beer type, so pick your favorite and start from there.