Wheat Beer Glasses

Wheat beer glasses are glasses that are specifically designed to be used with any of a variety of wheat beers. If you're not familiar with wheat beers, you should check out our article titled "What is Wheat Beer?". These glasses may also be referred to as Weizenbier or Weißbier. Typically, the glasses are slightly over-sized (roughly a half liter) to allow ample room for the thick “head” that are characteristic of wheat beers and hefeweizens. For this reason, these glasses are generally easy to spot because they are much taller than the typical pint glass. The glasses also have a clearly recognizable shape that mimics that of a vase, with an hourglass taper near the the bottom portion of the glass.

So, why use a wheat beer glass? Simple – you need the room. Much of the signature aroma of a good wheat beer or hefeweizen is released through the thick foam at the top. Pouring a bottle of wheat beer into a normal pint glass won't allow room for the head, or will force you to leave some beer in the bottle until you've had a few sips. The later is something to be avoided, because much of the yeast contained within wheat beers will settle at the bottom of the bottle. Trust me, you want all of that in your glass. For some recommended wheat beers, view our list of the top 10 American Pales.

Featured Wheat Beer Glasses

Ttpically, beer glasses will be sold in sets of 6. No point in just getting one glass because you won't be able to enjoy proper drinking with your friends - which is really what it's all about. Here are some glasses that we recommend.

Wheat Beer Pouring Methods

Once you have your wheat beer glass, you need to learn how to pour. There's no sense in paying for a good hefewizen if you're going to screw up the pouring and prevent yourself from getting the full benefit of the flavor. There are a few different methods that are commonly used...

The Slow Pour

Hold your wheat beer glass almost horizontally and begin pouring slowly. Once the beer starts creeping up the glass towards the mouth, start slowly standing your glass up and continue the careful pour. Once you're almost through the bottle, stop pouring! When you have an inch or so of beer left, you'll want to swirl the remaining beer around a bit to make sure you pick up all the yeast that's settled to the bottom. You'll also create a fair amount of foam from swirling this way – which you can pour right on top. With a typical bottle and the correct wheat beer glass, you should be able to pour so that the head just touched the lip of the glass. Give it a look for a moment to appreciate your perfect pour, and enjoy.

The Flip

Cover your open bottle with your wheat beer glass and then turn both over. As your pour, slowly lift your bottle up and out of the glass. I actually don't like this method much at all. I've tried it, and I'm always left with some yeast in the bottle which should certainly be in my beer.

A Word of Warning

With true wheat beer glasses, the top portion is thin, and the base is noticeably thicker. Don't toast and bump the tops of your glasses together with these – you'll risk breaking your glass and worse yet, spilling beer. You've been warned.