Spiegelau Collaborates with Bell’s Brewery to Create a New Glass for Wheat Beers

Designed to elevate the experience of drinking Bell’s Oberon Ale and Winter White, the glass is poised to become the new standard for enjoying all wheat beers.

The Bell’s Wheat Glass is now available to purchase online at bellsbeer.com as well as at the Bell’s General Store located adjacent to the Eccentric Café, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., in downtown Kalamazoo.

After previously collaborating with Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada for an IPA-specific glass and Left Hand Brewing and Rogue Ales for a stout-specific glass, Spiegelau recognized the need to develop better drinking vessels for one the world’s most popular beer varieties – wheat –and began talking with Bell’s about a possible collaboration.

This new glass was developed over a series of design workshops and tasting panels led by Riedel Owner Georg Riedel and Spiegelau Vice President Matthew Rutkowski.

Bell’s Vice President Laura Bell, Director of Operations John Mallet and additional brewery experts, tested a selection of Bell’s wheat beers against 50 glasses pulled from Spiegelau’s glassware archive. The selection was then narrowed down to 12 and finally to one. The ultimate challenge was to find a glass shape that had the most profound effect on the aromas and flavor profiles of both American and German style wheat beers.

“As with previous workshops, we challenged conventional thinking and presumption of what a wheat beer glass should look like. … The new glass works to bring faint aromas into sharp focus,” Rutkowski said.

“The chance to work with Spiegelau was an exciting opportunity for us,” Bell said.

“John and I met with Georg and Matt in Portland to taste wheat beers from a variety of different glasses, discussing pros and cons of each. To be involved in a project that enhances our core wheat beers – was a tremendous experience. This glass will allow craft beer enthusiasts to enjoy well crafted, very drinkable, but also complex beers on another level,” she said.

A wheat glass release party will be held on Nov. 18 at Bell’s Eccentric Café starting at 7 p.m.

The first 25 guests will be able to take their wheat glass home for free.

Glasses will also be available to purchase for $9 and those who purchase it can enjoy their first 16 oz. pour of Winter White for $1.

All guests can enjoy pours of Winter White for $2 all night.

ABOUT THE GLASS

· Large, voluminous bowl harnesses and retains the delicate aromas of this beer style

· Open bottom glass base drives beer and aromatic foam upward into main bowl

· Ultra-pure quartz material makes for unsurpassed clarity and flawless, true color presentation of wheat beer

· Tapered, conical bowl provides superior flow to mid palate, improving the taste, mouth feel and finish of wheat beers of all varieties

· Stark, angular shape and open base creates dramatic visual cascading effect into glass as beer is poured.