Bottle vs. Can vs. Glass. What is the best way to enjoy your beer?

Rogue: Double Chocolate Stout

   There’s an another old myth that goes back as far as time itself that states that bottles are the way to go.  After all, what’s more ‘Murican than a nice cold bottle of your favorite brew?  They look cool on your shelf after use; they look cool in your hand while you drink them; and they make nice targets for shooting practice on your uncle’s ranch.  Supposedly, while the color of the bottle has to do with preventing light from changing the flavor, some allege that the color of the glass also adds extra flavor to the beer and determines the level of carbonation to be expected (I call BS on that one).  Furthermore, not only are the labels collectible, but the bottle caps are also pretty nifty and make nice baseball cap accessories.  Yet despite all the positives of beer in a bottle, one cannot take bottled beer to campsites or rivers.

Oskar Blues: Ten Fidy Imperial Stout

But on the other hand, there’s an equally numbered faction and equally old myth among beer junkies that cans are the way to go.  They’re reliable.  They don’t shatter.  They’re impervious to sunlight.  And best of all, you can drink them while floating down a river on a beautiful summer’s day.  However, with the advent of craft beer, snobs like to note that cans leave a tinny flavor that contributes to unintentional flavors.  Yet while that may have been correct for a long time, things have changed.  Canned beer is now produced with a type of technology that does not change the flavor of the beer.  Thus, beer lovers everywhere can now enjoy beer straight out of the can whilst floating down a river on a beautiful summer’s day and worry not about the beer police or, even worse, off-flavors.

Our Authentic-Style Hefeweizen

Nevertheless, if you’re looking for the completeness of flavor, aroma, and overall beer experience, nothing can replicate what you seek more than glass.  Glass allows the drinker to utilize his or her five senses in ways that bottles and cans do not.  With a glass, you can see the beer and witness its hue, admire its clarity or haziness as you hold the beer up to the light, and even hear the foam (if you listen delicately) that settles at the top after a good pour.  You can also savor the aroma of a finely crafted beer and inhale its complexity on a whole new level.  Furthermore, because—as the old saying goes:  taste is 90% smell—you can taste the beer more deeply and feel it on your palette on a whole different level because of the circumference of the glass that is wider than that of bottles and cans.

So ultimately, bottles or cans?  It just depends on your preference.  But what is certain is that glass trumps the others.  Better yet, glassware that is suited specifically for certain beer types.  But that’s a better topic best left for another day.

Cheers! 

Marc and Dan