Hy-Vee Recipes and Ideas

Pint glasses were originally used for shaking cocktails. However, over the years, bars and restaurants began using them to serve beer because they are hardy glasses that are easy to store and clean. Today, the pint glass is the standard beer glass in the U.S. But they aren't recommended for strong or exotic specialty brews.

Also known as the English pub glass, the bulge around the upper lip improves grip and helps prevent chipping around the rim. These are great for low gravity session beers (low-alcohol beers) or English ales.

This sturdy glass is easy to swing around and cheers to thanks to the hefty handle. You might be familiar with this style of glassware from German beer halls, since it's an ideal glass for strong German lagers, such as doppelbocks. 

This fun to open and close lidded-mug is called a stein, and that fancy lid will help keep flies out of your beer when enjoying an outdoor biergarten. For tradition's sake, use a stein to drink Oktoberfest beers.

The inward taper of this versatile piece of glassware helps hold the aroma of a beer. While it's designed more for Belgian ales, it's also perfect for anything from IPAs to stouts. 

The slender base and large mouth of the Pilsner glass help promote carbonation and head retention. It's good for light ales and pilsners, as the name would imply. 

Although similar to champagne glasses, flutes have a shorter stem and a long, narrow body to show off bubbles, carbonation, and sparkling color. This glass is great for lambics and fruit beers. 

While the hefeweizen glass can sometimes be confused with a pilsner glass, notice it has more of a curvature at top. It's designed primarily for wheat beers, such as, you guessed it, hefeweizen.

A thistle glass is a modified tulip glass—it's slightly longer with a more pronounced bulb shape at the bottom—that's designed for Scotch ales. (Fun fact: Thistle is the national flower of Scotland.)

Originally popularized in the 20th century for brandy, the snifter glass is ideal for high gravity beers, barley wines, and imperial stouts.