You've Been Drinking Beer All Wrong

No, really. You have. Not because you're choosing the wrong beer to drink.  If you hanker after Pabst Blue Ribbon, we won't judge. If you spend half your paycheck every month on $150 bottles of Samuel Adams Utopias (via Liquor.com), you keep on being you. We're not here to nitpick about whether or not Weizens are better than Pilsners or pale ales are better than stouts or IPAs are better than porters and so on. Regardless of the beers that grace your midday, I-can't-believe-it's-only-2pm daydreams, you're probably drinking about 25.9 gallons of them per year (via NBWA). You might as well drink those gallons out of the right glass.

If you drink beer straight from the bottle, you might be smirking right now. Give glasses a shot. When you pour beer into a glass, you create the tiny little bubbles that you love to watch rise and burst. When they do burst, they release the beer's aromas, significantly enhancing your experience (via Kitchn). Not only this, but depending on the glass you pick, you will or will succeed in letting the beer live its best life: i.e., bringing out its flavors, its colors, its thickness, its creaminess, and its fragrances (via Kegerator). 

Here are the basics to get you started. The wider the mouth of your beer glass, the more aroma you let escape from it, and the less you'll be able to appreciate the smells and tastes that your favorite pint gives off (via Vine Pair). If your preferred brew is low in alcohol, a standard pint glass or a mug is just fine. You'll want a smaller-mouthed glass for the higher-alcohol volume, more complex beers. 

Try a tulip-shaped glass with tapering mouth and a little bit of lip to enjoy beers with complex taste profiles and foamy heads. Belgian blonde ales, farmhouse ales, IPAs, and ciders, all sit well in these (via Beer Advocate). For a heavier stout or a stronger ale, opt for a snifter. These wide-bowled cognac glasses provide you with the room necessary to swirl your beer around, agitating its volatiles, and increasing your sensory experiences. But maybe you're a wheat beer person? Then, look for the long, thin-walled, and slightly curved Weizen glasses that lock in aromas while encouraging the thick foam that you crave. 

Finally, if you can't invest in different specialty glasses, consider purchasing yourself a couple of Nonic pints. A nonic pint is like a traditional pint glass but has a slight bulge near the top. You can use them with just about any brew that you fancy (via Shore Craft Beer).