Hello, my name is Christopher, and I like beer. In fact, in my humble opinion, there is only ONE thing that I like about living in Chicago during the winter – my garage keeps my beer colder than my refrigerator. When they say in those beer commercials that the beverage is best served cold, come to my house between Thanksgiving and Tax Day. The beer here will be chilled to perfection, and likely, worth the trip into the Great White (Almost) North.
When Gear Diary was recently approached by Terra Keramik and asked if we’d like to review their Glasi Hergiswil Pilsner Beer Glasses, I jumped at the opportunity. Let’s take a quick look and see how they did.
There are just a few rules at my house when it comes to beer consumption:
1. All beer must be purchased in bottles, not cans. Beer in cans tastes vastly different than beer in bottles, and I don’t like, what appears to be, a metallic taste, in canned beer.
2. When consuming beer directly from the bottle, it must have a beer-cozi wrapped around it. It keeps the beer cold, and absorbs condensation off the bottle. I don’t want beer bottle rings on my tables.
3. Beer is best consumed from a pilsner glass, if available. Some of the better beers really need to breathe a bit before consumption. The best way to allow the beer to breathe is to pour it into a pilsner glass.
The first two rules are easy to comply with. The last one, well, in a house with little kids…maybe not so much. I don’t have many pilsner glasses, as they usually get knocked over and the contents spilled (little tiny bubbles… those that remember the Bud commercial will understand). On occasion, the glasses have even broken. Very sad…
Honestly, pilsner glasses can be found anywhere and everywhere. Usually, as just about anyone will tell you, a glass is a glass. My experience is similar, but there’s something special about the Glasi Hergiswil glasses that you really have to experience.
Taken directly from their site,
The glasses are handcrafted and mouth blown. They are cone shaped with an even taper that focuses the hop aroma of a beer and maintains a robust head. The development and retention of a foam head is important because it enhances the trapping of certain volatiles that evaporate from beer to create its aroma.
Each beer glass is individually mouth-blown from lead-free crystal glass. The superior quality of these premium glasses is evident in their clarity, brilliance, timbre and finish. We recommend to hand wash the glasses. Handcrafted in Switzerland by Glasi Hergiswil since 1817.
As you can see from the pictures below, the glass is really superior in quality. The glass is thick, the base wide and sturdy; and again, its constructed from one contiguous piece of glass.
The glass is pictured here with one of my favorite local, micro-brews, Goose Island 312 (local to the Chicago-land area only, hence the name, 312, after downtown Chicago’s area code). The beer was good to begin with, the Glasi Pilsner glass only made it that much better.
The only thing that might be considered a problem is the price of the glasses. At $29 a glass, a set of four is $116, plus shipping. However, if you are so inclined, these glasses are truly awesome, and if you’re a beer-oisseur, like me, then these are a must have, and well worth the cost.
Cost: The Glasi Hergiswil Pilsner beer glass is $29, and can be purchased directly from their site.
What I liked: The quality of the glass is amazing. The base is wide enough to support a full glass of beer, and there doesn’t seem to be a week point anywhere in the glass. Its constructed from a single, handcrafted, mouth blown piece of crystal.
What Needs Improvement: Nothing, really. The product is truly awesome, and I’d recommend them to any serious beer drinker, anywhere.