Got a little older last month and instead of a bottle of bourbon or a bar book for my Birthday, my wife presented me with something I didn’t think I even needed. She gave me a “Seasonal” (Saison) Birrateque Beer Glass. She rightly figured that if, on occasion, I was going to drop $15+ dollars on a 4 or 6-pack of craft beer, why not enjoy it in a chilled glass designed specifically for the higher-end suds. As you all know, I’m a huge fan of the old-fashioned, retro pilsner glass. If I’m not just sipping from a bottle or can, I pull out my 60’s pilsners and drink my beer in one of them. But … and apparently I was missing a lot of what the brewers were and are sweating over.
The Saison glass, at first, went against my drinking ideology; it looked like something Captain Kirk might sip a beer from, very futuristic and cumbersome. Well, I was wrong about the glass being cumbersome, but I’d still recommend it as a cool prop in a future Trek movie. I let the glass chill in my fridge for a few hours, pulled it and poured myself a cold Sam Smith’s Porter into it. One of my favorite beers, I believe England’s Samuel Smith just doesn’t make a bad beer and at roughly $12 a four-pack, I figured this to be an excellent beer for a trial run in my new glass.
I love Porters in the summer; they’re heavy & tasty without being thick to the palate. When poured ice cold, I really enjoy them. The Kona Pipeline Porter with its amazing nose & coffee finish is my favorite right now along with my go to, the Samuel Smith’s.
Back to the Birrateque. – The glass added to a great beer drinking experience, I must say. First off, it provided a sustainable head on my beer. From start to finish, which, let’s face it, didn’t take that long, I was able to enjoy a thick, foamy 1+ inch head through my entire beer. I liked that. The head helped insulate the cold beer below & the tapered glass concentrated the head keeping it for the time it took to drink. The grip was well purposed, kind of separating the beer I’d yet to drink from the upper compartment from which, I believe, the 1st half of my beer was being poured into my mouth from; a reserve portion of beer waiting for me after I finished the 1st half of my Porter. Heavy enough to clomp down on my bar without worrying about rocking or spilling, the stem also provided a great grip for when I grabbed the glass to knock a little more back. It also seemed to me, that by almost having two chambers designed into the glass, my beer stayed colder towards the finish.
By tapering the shape of the upper half inwards, unlike my usual pilsner which spills outward, the aroma of my beer, cutting through and enhanced by the head, also came through with each sip (gulp in my case). The glass was a bit heavy, but not enough to slow my enjoyment down or even complain about. Beer drinking should be a hearty experience, imo.
Bottom line, I like this glass very much and think my wife hit a home run with this one. Will I drink every beer from it? I doubt it. If I’m cracking’ an American Lager after an afternoon of yard-work, I’ll probably just stay with the can or use a lager glass. But … If I drop cash on a great craft six-pack and take the time to really appreciate the effort that went into my beer, I’ll reach for my Saison Beer Glass. Birrateque really has something with their beer glass line. Might have to try another style soon.
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