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High-tech beer glass more than a marketing tool Date published: 7/8/2007
By MICHAEL ZITZ Nearly $10 a glass? Without beer in it? Sounds like something a chardonnay-sipper would pay for, not a beer-drinker. Historians at Mount Vernon have a "flip glass" from which George Washington used to drink a mixture of beer, spirits and sugar that was served heated. But throughout history, the average American has been pretty minimalistic when it comes to downing a brew. We often drink beer out of cans and bottles. If we want to put on airs, we use a frosty mug. That could be changing, though. Wine consumption in the U.S. has closed the gap on beer consumption. And beer companies have to do more to appeal to an increasingly sophisticated consumer than air Swedish Bikini Team ads. Samuel Adams recently introduced a line of special pint glasses that cost $30 for a set of four. The Boston company had nearly as many scientists working on those glasses as NASA does on the space shuttle. Speaking of outer space, it looks like something "Star Trek's" Romulans would use to drink their ale. It had to be just the right height, just the right shape, just the right thickness, with little bubble-making bumps in just the right places. Here's the weird thing about it: It works, enhancing the flavor of lager. Jeff Fitzpatrick, proprietor of Blue & Gray Brewery in Spotsylvania County, says "some folks poo-poo this as just marketing." But Fitzpatrick isn't a member of the poo-pooing group. "There's a longstanding trend in Europe to craft a glass specifically for a given beer that's finally gaining some ground here in the States," he said. "With the rise of craft beer, there is increasing sophistication about how a glass matters as well. " In a telephone interview with The Free Lance-Star, Boston Brewing Co. founder Jim Koch said Sam Adams worked with "sensory experts" and glass craftsmen to create a Boston Lager Pint Glass with powers anything but pint-sized. Koch said that "historically, those shapes and sizes have been chosen for durability--you can almost bounce them before you break them."
Date published: 7/8/2007
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