Is Drinking Beer Better In A Glass Or Bottle?

The glass vs bottle debate is 0ne of those arguments that divide a lot of people. And the reasons people have vary of all types. Typically among beer enthusiasts, beer does taste better in a glass than a bottle. However, they type of glass (and type of beer!) are factors in that. There are some glasses, like a pint glass, where beer might taste better in a bottle. And then there is the convenience of a bottle, when you are finished with a bottle of beer, you just recycle it. There is no need to clean any dishes. And there are health factors too!

Whatever the actual case may be, whatever you choose will depend on what is important to you and what type of beer you are drinking.

With all these factors put into place, one question remains through all the vast varieties of beers for those who love to drink them. Does beer taste better in a glass or bottle?

Bottle vs. Glass

The debate between drinking beer from a glass or a bottle is constant. Some people prefer them in bottles, and some prefer them in a glass. People would go on and on about which one is actually better, and we’re here to help settle the score. We’re going to list a breakdown of the actual differences between these two traditional ways of drinking to help you decide.

Bloating

If you drink beer regularly, then you’ve experienced bloating. Beer is a highly carbonated drink that brings excess air into your stomach. This can be a very unpleasant feeling because air can make you feel full-up or heavy. It causes flatulence making you gassy. This is where beer belly comes from. Drinking beer from glass will actually help the air fizz out and make the beer less carbonated and heavy for you to drink. In a way, it makes your beer lighter than that in a bottle.

Convenience

Drinking beer from a bottle is more convenient especially if you’re out. It’s easier to store, less likely to spill, and easier to put away after use. If you’re drinking beer from a glass, it’s more likely to spill and be wasted. Also, a glass is something you are going to need to clean or put into a dishwasher. A bottle, you can just recycle it.

Keeping it Cool

If you’re a person that takes forever to finish their beer, then you would prefer your beer in a bottle. Since its invention around 400 years ago, bottled beer has become one of the top choices to serve beer. Bottles are able to retain cool temperatures longer than glasses. Bottled beers are often kept fresh longer, as beers in glass with a wider opening and thinner glass tend to fizz out and get warmer faster. The flavor is retained much longer and you’ll enjoy it more.

This can differ between different beer types. For example, porters and stouts are typically not as good drinking cold as an IPA or lager would.

The Taste

Beer has been developed so much that the choices for flavors are endless. From dark and bitter to light and sweet, brewers have come up with so many ways to make beer appealing to all types of people. Now, there are varieties of beer that exist that you won’t even think of! Because of this, would it taste better to drink of a glass of a bottle? The answer is glass.

When drinking beer from a bottle, the way it tastes in your mouth is completely different. Because of the small exit most bottles have, beer only passes through certain parts of your tongue. You’re actually missing out on a lot of flavors and textures. It goes from the bottle, straight to your stomach. Yes, the taste is there, but that’s not enough.

Drinking beer from a glass lets you in on a whole new world of experience for your beer. You get to take in the aroma, the hidden notes within the beer’s chemistry, and the flavors you don’t usually notice. Remember that 70 to 90 percent of what you think is taste, is actually smell!

Your sense of smell is responsible for the way you taste food and drinks. If you drink beer straight from the bottle, this whole sensation is often missed or completely gone. Drinking beer from a glass lets to take in the notes and flavors your tongue cannot detect. Different parts of your tongue are able to identify textures you normally wouldn’t if drank straight from the bottle.

However, there is a caveat here: the type of glass. Not all glasses are created equal. So the type of glass you are using will make a difference in whether it would taste better than drinking beer out of the bottle. Ill go into more detail below.

The Type Of Glass

The type of glass you are using would have a major impact on the taste. For example, drinking out of a pint or shaker glass is typically considered to be lowest quality for taste. These glasses are popular at bars because they are stackable, cheap to replace, and done break easily. But their lack of design is that they are pretty much straight with no curves, letting the aromas escape to into the air.

In comparison, the Spiegelau IPA glass is designed with curves to help keep more of the aroma in the glass, which enhances the flavor. The shaker glass may not provide better tasting beer than a bottle, but the Spiegelau IPA glass would.

You can read about about the best glasses for IPAs in much more detail here.

Final thoughts

Some people would say that there really isn’t any difference between how you drink beer or where you drink it from. However, others would argue otherwise. In our personal opinion, go for the glass, but it’s always your choice with whatever you’re used to or comfortable with.