spiegelau

Spiegelau's new Beer Connoisseur Kit is an instant classic. Whether it's for Father's Day or for you, you're not likely to find a simpler and more elegant set of crystalline beer glasses -- and for just $49.

Lager is one of the most common beers, and that's why most people serve all beers in lager-friendly pint glasses. However, the shape of the glass greatly affects the experience of a beer's aroma and flavor, and not all beers are made alike. If you consider the way the taste buds are arranged on the tongue, it makes sense that the way a beer flows into the mouth will affect the taste. The shape of the glass determines that flow, and there is no one-glass-fits-all for beer.

The Kit features, from left to right, Spiegelau's new Tall Pilsner Glass, Wheat Beer Glass, a Lager Glass (pint glass) and a Stemmed Pilsner Glass, ensuring that you always serve your beer in a shape conducive to expressing the beer's optimum flavor.

All the glasses are German-made and dishwasher-safe. If presenting someone with the Beer Connoisseur Kit as a gift, we recommend also gifting them with four imported beers ideal for the glasses, like a Bohemian-style pilsner for the Tall Pilsner Glass, a wheat (or "weizen") beer, an esoteric lager and a highly-fermented, intense pilsner for the stemmed glass.

Great beer requires proper glassware to be enjoyed to the fullest; enter Spiegelau's new Beer Classics Barrel. Containing a "six pack" of lager glasses from the brand's Beer Classics Collection, with a SRP of $75, nestled in a cardboard aging-vat look-alike, each glass holds 17 ounces of beer.

Since the glasses retail for $30 for a two pack, the barrel includes one for free. The Spiegelau lager glass (right) augments the inherent characteristics and varying flavors of grains, yeast and hops to the brews' maximum advantage.

The narrow base broadening into a wider mouth channels the aromas, preserves the frothy head and volatiles, and highlights the color, clarity and carbonation. You can purchase the Barrel online at www.riedelwebstore.com.

This past holiday weekend beer was the beverage of choice for a lot of people, and although an ice-cold brewski may seem at first glance like one of the most unassuming and simplest of alcoholic beverages the experts at Spiegelau have a different take. They've taken their combined 500 years of experience and created three distinct glasses made especially for bringing out the best in different kinds of beer. Their Beer Classics collection is geared for optimizing the appearance, aroma, taste, and finish of your favorite brew -- get a hold of these glasses and you could find yourself becoming quite the beer snob.

Via Decanter