Considering how much we put into them, and of course, how much we like what we get out of them, you might imagine we’d give a little more respect to the humble beer glass. Jim Koch, owner of Samuel Adams certainly wants us to. Disparaging of the standard, straight-sided pint glass that dominates the American bar (and which is, frankly, best used only as half of a Boston shaker), Mr. Koch enlisted the help of scientists and engineers to design glassware optimized for beer.

You might wonder how much the glassware can affect your experience of drinking beer. As it happens, the answer is “enough to matter.” Consider the world of wines, where the correct stemware is not just a matter of flavor but also a measure of sophistication- the faux pas of serving Chablis in a big ol’ Bordeaux glass is hard to overestimate, I’m sure. Beer drinkers don’t take it to quite that level, but nonetheless, the craft-brewing scene has lead to an increasing awareness of the role of glassware, beyond that of simple advertising.

Glassware has even had an influence on beer styles. The most widely known example of this concerns the rise of popularity of Czech & German pilsners in Europe at around the same time as transparent and mass-produced glassware was introduced. Drinkers could appreciate the translucent, golden effervescence of the style, and as a result, opaque beers began to fall by the wayside.

As regards the new Sam Adams glass, only part of the design addresses strictly aesthetics; the other features come straight from modern psychological science, specifically aspects of flavor perception. In particular, these features tend to enhance the aroma of the beer, and since flavor is the experience of both taste and smell, anything that alters concentrations of aroma will also change the overall flavor profile.

The aspects of the design which do this are: micro-etching on the bottom of the glass, the bulbous shape, and the reworking of the angle of the lip of the glass (the rim of which is slightly beaded). The micro etching provides nucleation sites for CO2, which means that the beer has a healthier and longer-lasting head of foam. This in turn helps keep aromatics productive throughout the length of the beer. The shape of the glass—like a brandy snifter— also aids in concentrating the bouquet. By giving the lip a slight and appealing curl, the beer is delivered a little further back on the tongue than with a straight-edged glass, to where there is a somewhat higher density of taste buds than the very tip. And the beading on the rim increases turbulance slightly as the beer comes into the mouth, releasing more gas and thus again increasing the olfactorary side of the flavor equation. Like Thomas Dolby, these glasses will blind you with their sicence- and hit you with technology.

So, is the new glass just a promotional tool, or does it really deliver? Having had the opportunity to drink a number of different beers (and other beverages) from them over the course of a few weeks, I believe they absolutely enhance the experience. I’ll admit there must be some dimension of the experience that is derived purely in the mind, I mean c’mon… these glasses are BADASS! On top of that, the principles of perception that these glasses exploit are sound, and I sensed extra olfactory action to be sure. Will they make your beer “better?” As Jim Koch puts it himself, they’ll make a Sam Adams taste more like a Sam Adams; they’ll also make a PBR taste more like a PBR. Whether you like that or not is up to you!

My thanks to Dennis at Colter Bay for the glasses. For an extra feature on these glasses, and other WNY Beer entertainment and news, check out the third episode of Beer-O-Vision, due in about two weeks. It, and past episodes, are available to stream or download at: Beerovision.com

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