The IPA Glass: Yay or Nay?

I always used to drink my IPA’s out of a tulip glass.  I heard rumblings of the new IPA glass that was developed by a couple of companies that know hoppy beers.  Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada worked in conjunction with Spiegelau Glassware to create the ideal glassware for hoppy beers.  When I saw one on the shelves at a local bottle shop, I decided to spend $4 for the sole purpose of telling everyone how ridiculous it was.  Boy was I wrong!  Never again would I consider drinking a hoppy beer out of any other glass than the Spiegelau IPA glass and here are some of the features that make it great.

The glass can hold 19oz, which means you can pour a beer aggressively and leave a thick head, which highlights the nose early.  The upper portion of the glass is long and tapers just like , but less dramatically than a snifter, which accentuates the nose more than any other glass.  The tulip tapers and then widens, which doesn’t keep the aromas contained like the IPA glass.

The highlighted feature is the base of the glass.  As you drink the beer past the halfway point, air flows into the lower portion of the glass, creating a miniature “Boot Kick” affect.  This feature aerates the beer, again really accentuating the nose of the beer.  You can see this highlighted in the fact that there is still a head on the beer even down to the last ounce.  For those of you that drink your IPAs out of a snifter, you will never see a head on the beer beyond the initial pour because it doesn’t have this feature and because the glass is so wide.

I am constantly looking for ways to enhance my beer drinking experience.  And not only that, I always do everything in my power to bring forward the best characteristics of a beer, which is why I think proper glassware is so important.  We have done a number of side by side comparisons and no one has ever denied that the IPA Glass shows off the nose better than any other glass.  If you like hoppy beers, do yourself a favor and go get yourself one of these glasses and I promise you won’t regret it.