A glass by any other name
I’m a pain in the ass about beer glasses, I admit it. Not only do I (strongly) prefer my beer from a glass, I prefer it from the correct glass as well. My wife has grumbled at me in the past because, having switched from a Pilsner to a Munich Helles, I also switched from the already dirty glass to a brand new, clean glass.
In my defense, I have gotten better about it. During those summer backyard barbecues I happily dug an overly-cold beer out of the barrel of ice, popped off the top, and drank my beer like a real American. Hell, one time over the summer I even drank my beer out of a can.
For those of you who aspire to that level of anal-ness, Beer Advocate has a handy guide to the many different beer glasses and the beers best drunk out of them. For the most part, it’s a very practical and eminently useful guide. There was one bit of advice which gave me pause, though:
Never chill your glassware, and decline if served a frosted glass.
Now, I’m as picky as the next guy, but if offered a beer in a frosted glass, smile, say thank you, and take the damn thing.
Photo from beernewsletter.com
Meh… I dunno. If the glass is that cold–frosted, it kills the yeast, prevents a lot of the odor from being released, messes with the carbonation. It does NOT make a happy beer. I’m not sure if I would refuse the beer, but if I walk into a place a notice a lot of frosted mugs, I’m definitely going to request a room-temp glass.
Absolutely – if there’s a reasonably polite way to avoid the frosted glass, I would do the same. That said, most of the frosted mug crowd isn’t drinking the best of beers anyway, and many are very pleased with themselves for having the mug frosted. In that case, I’d take it and enjoy it for what it is.
I think there is a certain etiquette that is appropriate. Restaurants are different because it’s their JOB to be hospitable. But if someone offers you a frosted mug at their home, I think the polite thing to do is take it.
I’m with the “take the frosted mug” group too, especially if you’re a guest in someone’s home.
TC has the right idea, though, – if I happen to notice that most beer is being served in frosted mugs at restaurants, I’ll try to remember to request a room temp glass when I order.
Otherwise, I’m fairly particular about the correct glass for my beer, especially if I’m not the one doing the dishes!