A toast to Belgium

Part marketing, part taste-enhancement, each Belgian beer brand traditionally has its own specially sized and shaped glass, a custom that has spread to Belgian restaurants abroad, such as Petite Abeille in New York City, and others featuring extensive beer lists.

At Birch & Barley and ChurchKey, the upstairs-downstairs restaurants in Washington D.C., beer director Greg Engert says, “Many of our vessels—11 different shapes in multiple sizes for a total of 22 different glasses—mirror the glasses of the Belgian tradition.” But he “borrows” a wine glass or brandy snifter sometimes, too, mixing and matching the brew with whatever glass “ensures that the overall flavor is most fully showcased and experienced.” The snifter shape, for example, captures aromas of American imperial IPA and stout, while a tall cylindrical glass such as a stange keeps the carbonation of mild, pale, lean-bodied wheat ales or Czech pilseners from dissipating. Engert even had a glassmaker add pour marks to glasses and developed a 150-page training manual, with an entire chapter devoted to glassware. The staff gets hands-on training in cleaning, rinsing and polishing and is frequently tested on glassware knowledge.