A Green Hoppy Bullet

This glass was a pain to get. Green Flash likes to do one-off tasting room only glasses when they release a new package beer- in this case it's a glass for their new triple IPA showcasing New Zeland hops. 

I think I probably had about 6-7 "sources" for this glass, but only one came through via BA (a very good trader I might add). The nice thing is that this beer is on the shelf here in Indiana, so the glass will get used a lot. 

What: Green Flash Green Bullet glass

How: BA Trade

Gandhi is a bot

Simply a case where I wanted a cool glass to go with a tasty beer. 

What: New England Brewing co. Gandhi-bot snifter 

How: BA trade

Stone 17th Anniversary

Long time no post! Been away for a couple weeks in Gold country, Sequoia NP, and San Diego (I'll post about those adventures later). It's no secret that Stone brewing is one of my favorite breweries and I probably have four times as much glassware from them compared to other breweries. Some of that is due to the fact that they churn out A LOT of glassware- the 17th anniversary is no different as there are at least 4 different glasses for the event. Three of those glasses were only available at the party and are very hard to get. The one above is the lone general release and it's a bruiser of a glass. 

What: Stone brewing 17th Anniversary Stein

How: Direct from the brewery. 

The "Proper Beer" Rule

I've had to institute a new rule as of late with my collection growing like it is: I'm not allowed to have a glass from that brewery unless:

A) I've been to the brewery, or 

B) I've had beer from them; preferably I have beer in my refrigerator/cellar. 

There are exceptions to this (there are always exceptions), but in general that's the rule and i call it the "proper beer rule". It's led to a lot of trades where someone sends a beer along with the glass to ease past this. 

The half acre glasses below are a good example of this rule and trade scenario. 

What: Half Acre "crab" glass and Half Acre Snifter

How: IG and BA trades 

Almanac

Not a lot to say here. This is a beautiful glass and the beer is pretty damn good. I lucked out with this glass as Almanac thought they were sold out, but were able to dig one up in the warehouse. 

I look forward to trying more of their beers and using this glass more. 

What: Almanac etched wine glass

How: Almanac

Out on the Prairie

A couple posts ago I showcased a Prairie mini-snifter and here is its big brother.

Yep that's about the sum of it. 

What: Prairie Snifter

How: BA Trade

I Woke Up Dead

I've been chomping at the bit to post about this glass. I got this glass recently in a trade and this is now the centerpiece of my collection: Left Hand "I Woke Up Dead" snifter. This was a one-time brewery only release that was made in very limited quantities. This is one of those rare glasses that I was willing to give up just about anything for and I did up trading a glasswhale for it. 

The artwork is amazing on this and this is easily my favorite glass. 

What: Left Hand "I Woke Up Dead" Snifter

How: BA Trade

A Glass Worth Celebrating

So today my girlfriend celebrate 3 years since we started dating. Naturally this is a good excuse to pull out a special beer, which in turn is a great excuse to use proper glassware. 

Poured a Prairie Bomb! (A massive imperial stout aged on vanilla, coffee, and peppers) into a Prairie mini-snifter. Prairie glassware is fairly difficult to acquire, but I found a trader in Oklahoma to get me some beer, and of course glassware. 

What: Prairie Mini-snifter

How: BA Trade

Beer Tourism- Cincinnati

So today's blog is centered around something I do a lot and will be featured a lot on this blog: beer tourism. 

On a whim we decided to go to Cincinnati and hit a couple breweries and IKEA (to appease the girl). Today I'll be talking about Rhingeist and later Rivertown. 

First I'd have to say that rhinegeist is not in the best area, but the space itself is pretty awesome; it appears to be a converted space taking up the entire 3rd floor of an old warehouse. Lots of picnic tables, corn hole, and a ping pong table. The brewery focuses on hoppy beers and had a hoppy wheat, an English mild, a few pale ales, and an IPA on. I tried the wheat and the pale ales. Overall the beers were pretty good and I ended up taking home one of their Monogamy single hop series pale ales featuring Mosiac Hops. 

Naturally I picked up a glass featuring their cool teardrop skull logo. 

What: Rhinegeist Brewery Snifter/Tulip

How: From the brewery

Westbrook Snifter

Yeah sorry no catchy title for this one. Got this from another BA trade. I really like Westbrook's branding and the glass does a good job of tapping into that without being complicated (like the bottle and can artwork). Eventually I need some Mexican cake for this thing. 

What: Westbrook Snifter

How: BA Trade

Glassware Advocacy

A few months ago I got over my fear of the Beer Advocate forums and started contributing here and there, mostly in the breweriana forum. Like with any online forum you've got your great people and your not so great people. Today I received a package from one of the former containing 2 nice pieces- a half acre "squidowl" willi becher glass and a Kane snifter; both are glasses that I was looking for. The BA sent them to me out of generousity and wanted nothing in return- that's glassware advocacy at its finest. 

What: Half Acre "squidowl" willi becher

Kane snifter

How: A very generous BA

A Cycle from Florida

Over the last few days I've gotten inundated with new glasses- 17 in total! This nice medium snifter from Cycle Brewing is one of my favorites and it came with a whale of a beer. The glass has a great logo and a very clean yet fun look. It was a bonus that the Rare Dos that came with it was not infected. 

What: Cycle Brewing Snifter

How: BA Trade

Like it or Not Pumpkin Beers (and Glasses) are Here.

The leaves are... well still green, there's a chill... wait no its still hot, well pumpkin and Oktoberfest beers are here! I finally caved today and cracked open my first pumpkin beer of the "season". Of course I needed the proper glassware for it. Luckily a BA sent me an Elysian "Great Pumpkin Beer Festival (8th Annual)" mini- snifter. I believe each year has a different jack-o-lantern design... Tempting to get each year! 

What: Elysian Great Pumpkin Beer (8th Annual) Festival mini-snifter 

How: BA Trade

Attack of the Belgians

Had 3 nice Belgian glasses show up in the last week. Unfortunately I still haven't had beers from 2 of the 3 breweries (Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen and Cantillon), but maybe someday! The fantome glass is not the best quality (wobbly and has specks on it), but how could you not love a glass with a ghost on it? The other 2 are beautiful pieces- I just need some beer for these things!

What: Cantillon gold logo glass, Fantome solid ghost tulip, and 

Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen "3" wine glass. 

How: BA trades

Hitachino Nest- A rare bird indeed

I seriously lucked out and grabbed this as soon as I saw it. I know these are rare, but I'm not sure how rare. 

It's made out of ceramic and it's a pretty good size since I believe it's technically a pilsner glass. It really is a beautiful piece. Now I have to decide if I want to hold on to it or trade it away...

What: Hitachino Nest Ceramic pilsner glass

How: Shhhh

Almost a very dark dark day

One of my big wants finally showed up today. I almost had a heart attack when I saw that they had put the glass in a box was too small/thin as is evidenced by the doming on the box. 

Nice of them to put the note on there, but seriously?? How about you don't pack the glass like an idiot. 

Anyways this is what showed up:

Yep a 2011 Three Floyds Dark Lord Day mini-snifter. This has probably been my biggest want for awhile and I finally got it- paid too much- but I got it. It almost didn't survive the trip. 

What: Three Floyds 2011 Dark Lord Day Mini-snifter

How: eBay

The Ancient Glasswhale

So this showed up at my door today: 

The Dogfish Head Ancient Ales glass. They've been spotted at DFH Ancient Ale Dinners and apparently you get one with your ticket? Haven't seen any on eBay or for trade yet, so people seem to be holding on to them tightly. I picked one up in a trade, which apparently came from a bottle shop.

Anyways the ancient ales logo is nice and almost seems multicolored. The glass is huge as seen below. 

Is it a glasswhale? Hard to tell with so much unknown about the glass, but for now it has that status. 

What: DFH Ancient Ales Goblet

Where: BA Trade

Attack of the Mini-Snifters!

Nowadays mini-snifters (or are these nano-snifters?) seem to be all the rage- popping up in brewery gift shops, given away at nicer festivals (like a couple above), and in general sought after by glassware collectors. 

Not exactly sure why they've gained popularity: cuteness? Don't take up a lot of room? Great for a 2oz pour of that 14% you've been saving?

Well whatever the case here are a few of mine... I've got a few more but those will be showing up in their own posts down the road. 

What: Various Mini-Snifters

How: Trades, Direct purchases

Mysterious Arrival from Wisconsin

My first New Glarus glasses arrived today- 4 of these spindly flutes. Don't really know anything about them and I've never seen them before. The quality seems decent so I don't think they're fakes- I'd guess they hold about 10oz... 

Anyone know anything about them? 

What: New Glarus Dancing Man Flutes

How: eBay

"Thank You" Glasswhales

I recently stopped off at Against the Grain smokehouse and brewery on the way home from a business trip to have lunch and drink their excellent beers. Naturally I always try to pickup some glassware wherever I go (as long as its a not a shaker pint), and that was the plan for my visit to AtG. I picked up a cool AtG logo'd German dimple glass, but on my way out I noticed a locked cabinet full of drool-inducing AtG etched snifters. After wiping up the drool I asked the bartender (good people there) what the deal with these awesome glasses was. Apparently these were exclusive drinking vessels for the original AtG investors. While I was sad I couldn't get one, I thought it was a pretty cool idea. 

Turns out Alpine Brewing Company did something similar, giving etched stemware to their employees. And there's always the exclusives that kickstarter contributors have been known to get. 

Overall I think giving exclusive glassware to people heavily invested in the company, whether its employees or actual investors, is a nice way to say "thank you". 

Thoughts?

2013 KBS Glass

This is a love hate glass. Has a great overall design- much better than the old glasses in my opinion, but quality is an issue. Anyone who has seen this glass knows what I mean; it's got that pesky overlap on the bar. At any rate I'm glad I have this glass thanks to a very generous Instagram follower. 

What: 2013 Founders KBS Glass; Custom goblet

How: A very generous Instagram follower

#1

This is the first post of my new blog dedicated to my passion for craft beer glassware and my ever expanding collection.

Seems appropriate that I would start things off with a glass with a big "1" on it. This is San Diego based Societe Brewing's One Year Anniversary glass. Unfortunately living in Indiana made it difficult to attend, but a beer advocate member helped me out and traded it to me. 

What: Societe Brewing 1st year anniversary glass; 8oz conical taster

How: BA Trade