OnTap Magazine

BEERGINNER’S GUIDE WHAT HOLDS TRUE FOR THE GRAPE We’ve all seen that tired meme announcing that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beerholder’, but the very thing that holds your beer – the glass – has an effect on so much more than just its appearance. Kamini Dickie takes a look at what the correct glassware can do for your beer. L ike wine, di erent styles of beer need di erent glasses to enhance the bouquet, the taste and the balance of the delicious liquid that lies within. As with wine and spirits, good beer deserves to be served in re ned glassware. A glass that is designed around a beer o ers a full sensory experience, beginning with the appearance – it is candy for the eye. ere is a glorious spectrum of colour across the beer rainbow depending on the style: from pale golden lagers through coppery brown ales, rich reds and ambers to deep, near-black stouts. e slender pilsner glass, for example, shows o the bright, light colour of the beer. And it’s not just about colour: each glass is designed in a way that accentuates the foamy head of its respective style. ENHANCING AROMA e shape of the glass directs how the aroma reaches the nose. What we taste is very closely connected to smell: about 80% of our sense of taste derives from our sense of smell. In beer much of the aroma is trapped in the foam. In a typical wide-mouth pint glass the aroma simply bubbles o , whereas in a tulip-shaped glass the aromas are captured and held securely in the bowl of the glass allowing you to stick your nose in and breathe in the fragrance. en comes the delight on the palate: the fragrant hop bouquet or a fruity acidity or the rich malty sweetness. Particular glass shapes work best for certain styles of beer – the glass has to reveal the inner quality of the beer and enhance the sensory nuances that make that brand unique. Picture a Bavarian wheat beer in a tall vase that curves in from a narrow FOR THE HOP HOLDS TRUE 28 | Summer 2018 | ontapmag.co.za