These are the words the waiter said to me while I sat alone in a Belgian bar in Hong Kong... I was startled and a little scared. Wha? What? I said while I looked around in utter bewilderment. Other than my buddy I was traveling with, no-one had spoken clear English to me in weeks.
After a few seconds, I finally re-gained my composure... or what composure I could (after two weeks of drinking light lagers, we had certainly imbibed a few high end beers once we found this Belgian godsend).
What did I do? What are you talking about?
"You can't pour that beer in that glass!" he said.
What?! I said with half astonishment and a slight chuckle. No, don't worry, it's my friend's beer, he's in the bathroom, he won't mind if I finish off the bottle.
"I'm not worried about that" he said. "You can't pour that beer in that glass. I'll get fired if my manager see's you drinking a hefeweizen out of a chalice. Let me get you the right glass".
I kept thinking I was on some hidden camera show and the host was about to pop out and yell gotcha! But this guy was serious...
Up until this happened I had never taken beer glasses that seriously. As a beer distributor I had always provided the bars with the proper glassware when they'd pour a particular beer. But I'd never follow up to make sure they'd use them. And later, as a brewery operations manager, we'd try to ensure our accounts would pour our beer in our glassware. But this was mostly for branding purposes, not because the glass was seen as an extension of the beer.
The Belgians take beer glasses seriously, and that got me to thinking, why don't we take it seriously in the US? Craft Beer has certainly increased beer's profile and respect. It's no longer just for the beach or mowing the lawn. But glassware is still seen as a pretentious and un-important part of the experience.
Drink it out of the bottle. Drink it out of the can. Drink it out of the pint glass you stole from a bar that one (just once?!) time....
It's all the same, right? Wrong. The glass you pour your beer into is important. It showcases the beer's color, the foam releases the aromas you receive when you take a sip. While I still think some beers are served perfectly fine out of the bottle or can, don't you think that something you are going to sip like an 11% Barleywine would be best served out of a brandy snifter rather than a pint glass?
This is where the Cheer's All Ultimate Beer Glass comes in. It's shape is designed to showcase the flavors presented in your favorite beer. For 90+% of the beers you'll be enjoying (IPAs, Pale Ales, Stouts, Porters, Lagers, Pilsners, and Radlers) this glass will have you covered.
While it's not possible for one glass to be "perfect" for every style of beer, in every case, our glass is definitely better than a shaker pint. No matter what style beer you are drinking, it will improve the aroma and flavors you experience.
So, while it's not the end of the world if you have to drink out of the can or bottle, just know that a glass will increase the flavors and enhance your beer experience.