Try drinking beer straight out of a bottle or from a regular pub glass. Then try drinking it out of a quality German-made Spiegelau glass. The difference is so astonishing you can hardly believe it. ‘It’s witchcraft!’ exclaimed Miro Bellini, who was helping host the Sydney Craft Beer Week event that showcased Spiegelau’s craft beer glasses.
King Street Brewhouse on King’s Wharf hosted the sold-out evening. I was stunned by the beautiful setup: before each person’s seat were placed two ‘joker’ glasses (the pot-sized standard pub glasses), along with three gorgeous Spigelau craft beer glasses, a bottle opener, and three craft beers.
Alan Elder, from Spiegelau, and Miro, from Brooklyn Brewery, guided us through the evening’s activities. We were instructed to open our first beer, an American Witbier from Green Beacon in Queensland, and pour it straight into the American Wheat Beer Spiegelau glass. Beautiful, frothy, fragrant foam emerged. The ‘expressive aroma’, as Miro dubbed it, was filled with peach and passionfruit notes — even a hint of grass. We found the Wayfarer U.S.A. brew to be creamy and light.
Then we poured the beer into the ‘joker’ glass. No foam. No smell. Wait — there was a smell. The smell of dishwashing liquid. The taste: sharp and nasty. Tried out of the can, the taste was slightly better, although ending with, as you would expect, a metallic finish.
Mind. Blown. How could a glass make that much difference? Alan and Miro explained that the quality of the glass, combined with the shape, allowed the beer to be at its best. I was already a convert. But to ram it home, we had two more beers to try.
Next up: the IPA glass. (Each design of the night was created in conjunction with famous American craft breweries to showcase each style to perfection.) This was my favourite design. The bottom of the glass looks like an old-fashioned beehive. Alan explained it’s called the ‘agitator’ — used to get the head back by swirling the beer around. IPAs are my least-favourite beer style (so sue me), but Bridge Road Brewers‘ Bling IPA tasted smooth, not too hoppy. In the ‘joker’ glass, it tasted like water. Mind. Blown. Again.
We finished off with the Spiegelau Stout glass. Miro — who works for Brooklyn Brewery — gave us the fascinating background on the U.S. brewery and its head brewer Garret Oliver. Then we dove into the Black Chocolate Stout. Half the room were huge stout drinkers and were thrilled to try it out of the nice glass. Not as thrilled to drink it out of the ‘joker’ glass. Even less thrilled to drink it out of the bottle, where its fruitcake and spice notes ended up tasting like Coke.
Before the class, I had no idea how huge a role the glass played in my enjoyment of beer. Now that I own the three fine craft beer glasses, I shall never again drink a beer at home out of the can. Next time I’m at a pub, I’ll ask for a glass, not a bottle. I encourage you all to do the same.
-Theresa
Co-founder of The Plus Ones, Theresa goes to Spiegelau events any chance she can get, and one day hopes to visit their factory in Germany.
Sydney Craft Beer Week runs from October 21st to October 30th 2016. Read our guide to the Top 10 must-do events this week.
You can purchase your own set of Spiegelau craft beer glasses and have your own tasting session (and mind blowing-experience) at home.
