American Wild Ale Archives | Which Beer Glass?

The Beer Flute or Flute Glasses

The beer flute is one of those glasses that kind of exists in between other styles. We’ll also use the word “flute” or “fluted” to describe certain categories of other glass.

By design these glasses are tall, very narrow, stemmed and hold smaller volumes of beer. Some are cone shaped, some are tulip shaped, some are just straight edged like a stange.

With their tall and delicate stature you can’t help but turn up your nose a bit while drinking from them.

Benefits of a Beer Flute or Fluted Glass

In a lot of ways the flute matches the stange in both form and function. Like the stange, the tall narrow body helps showcase the beer’s sparkling carbonation. It’s narrow mouth also helps with head retention and concentrating volatiles right upfront and into your nose.

This is similar in many ways to what’s going on with the narrower versions of the pilsner glass as well. What we dubbed the “European Pilsner” can also be called a “fluted pilsner” first, because it looks like a flute, but also because it shares some of these benefits.

What Beer Goes in a Beer Flute?

Generally speaking a beer flute will work for any light colored, crisp beer with lots of bright, sparkling carbonation. If the bottle has a cork that might serve as a clue.

For specific styles, I really only reach for a flute glass when I’m drinking a lambic. Outside of that I’m typically happier using a pilsner glass, stange or chalice.

Where Can I get a Flute Glass?

For unbranded glassware you’re best bet is just to pickup some champagne glasses. These are easily available at most Target, Walmart and Home Goods locations. For fancier flutes you’ll want to look for lambic glasses or “fruit beer” glasses.

If your local beer bar serves lambics just ask if they turn their glasses over regularly. These glasses are often decorated with a gold rim and brewery artwork that can wear down over time. Restaurants and bars will sometimes throw faded glasses out or offer them up to regular customers as they replace them. Amazon also has Lindeman’s lambic glasses for $15- $20 each.

The Beer Goblet or Oversized Wine Glass

A Leffe Beer Goblet — The Leffe Beer Goblet

Similar to the chalice a beer goblet is a stemmed beer glass with a large bowl shaped top. While the chalice is is a bit more stocky the goblet has a more refined look. They tend to be a bit taller with thinner stems resembling large wine glasses.

Chalices also tend to be more bowl shaped while goblets are more rounded or balloon shaped. In fact, you’ll find a lot of these listed as “Wine Balloons.”

The beer goblet (or oversized wine glass) can range from 8 to 22 ounces with larger glasses being on the more delicate side. This is especially true when you’re subbing in a more modern oversized wine glass.

A lot of other sites will combine the chalice and the goblet for pairing purposes and that’s a fair approach. We chose to separate them because there is definitely an aesthetic difference that’s worth noting.

Benefits of a Beer Goblet / Oversized Wine Glass

These glasses are similar to chalices and snifters in that they provide a wide bowl which showcases a beer’s color and clarity. The bowl shape also traps more delicate aromatics in a concentrated space.

If you don’t have beer goblet you could easily sub in either a chalice, tulip or a snifter. I’d recommend snifter for lower carbonation beers and either a chalice or a tulip for higher carbonation ones.

What Beer Goes with a Beer Goblet / Large Wine Glass?

While the glass is kind of a stand-in for other glasses I’d still recommend it for glasses with less active carbonation. Sour ales, saisons, wild ales, farmhouse ales, barley wines, and wheatwines fit nicely with the glass.

Again, these are lower carbonation beers with more delicate or nuanced aromas that help with enhancing flavor.

Beyond that, it can be used as a substitute for a tulip or chalice when those glasses are unavailable.

Where can I buy Beer Goblets?

I have a few Leffe Beer goblets that I picked up as bar promotions but they also turn up at liquor stores that have more diverse beer selections.

Outside of that you’ll mostly be looking to grab a 22 ounce wine glass which can be found at box stores like Target and Home Goods and in the wine section of most liquor stores.

The Tulip Beer Glass

Ballast Point Red Velvet on Nitro in a Tulip Beer Glass

The tulip beer glass is similar in stature to the snifter but rather than ending at a taper, it flares out at the mouth. The flaring at the top of the glass can be relatively mild or rather pronounced depending on the glass maker. Below you’ll see a variety of different tulip glasses. They’re all tulip glasses but they’re slight variations are worth examining.

You may notice that the term “tulip” is also used to describe other types of glassware. Glasses like the tulip pint glass and Stella Artois’ Tulip Chalice either end mid bulb or round back in slightly.

Benefits of the Tulip Beer Glass

You’ll usually be using the tulip glass for beers which pour with thick foamy heads or lots of effervescent bubbles. The bulbous body and tapered neck of the tulip beer glass helps to support this head and capture volatiles in and around the glass’s mouth.

When you’re drinking from this glass you’ll be able to pick up on some of the beer’s more subtle characters which might otherwise be overwhelmed in a glass with a larger mouth.

What Beer Goes with Tulip Beer Glasses?

The tulip glass is also occasionally called a “Belgian Ale Glass” which can give you a clue where to start. This glass will handle most Belgian ales including Darks, Pales and Strongs.

The glass also goes well with double and imperial IPAs. Because it focuses subtler characteristics, it’s great for picking out hoppy or floral notes over some of the alcohol bite that comes with the finish. The same is true for wild ales and farmhouse ales.

A modified, or tweaked, version of the tulip beer glass is the thistle glass. If you don’t have one of these the tulip will serve well for Scotch Ales as well.

In all, the tulip glass is pretty versatile! There are some that even argue it may be the only glass you need in your collection … but where’s the fun in that?

Where can I buy a Tulip Beer Glass?

Libbey has a great starter set called the “Libbey Craft Brew Sampler Clear Beer Glass Set.” This set includes a “Belgian Ale Glass” which is essentially a taller version of the tulip glass. This set runs about $30 on Amazon but can be found for around $20 in places like Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

La Chouffe, Duvel, and Tripel Karmeliet often have gift sets around the holidays which contain tulip glasses as well.

There are also sets of four Tulip Beer Glasses available on Amazon for around $15.