We all go to incredible lengths to keep our brewing equipment clean and sanitary. From day one, it’s hammered into us that homebrewing is mostly janitorial work, with some occasional beer-related tasks interspersed between rounds of cleaning.
Then why is it that so few of us pay attention to how we clean our glassware? Up until a couple of years ago, I always just blindly reached for the nearest pint glass in the cupboard and put it in the dishwasher when I was done. And sometimes I still do.
But our beer really does deserve better, and when you’re using a fancy glass to serve an expensive beer, it really makes a difference. So how do you know whether your glassware is clean? Three easy tests can help you check that your regimen is up to par.
Check for lacing.
This foolproof test requires nothing more than drinking a beer, something you’re presumably doing anyway. Lacing is the beautiful ring of foam that clings to the inside of your beer glass as you empty it. In a truly clean glass, each sip leaves it own ring, to the point that you can often count how many sips you took by counting the foam rings. If they’re not there, or if they form more of an amorphous blob than discrete rings, your cleaning could probably use some work.
Dunk it in water.
Take what you believe to be a clean glass and dip it into freshly drawn water and then pull it out upside down. Water will flow out of a clean glass as a single sheet. If, instead, you notice that the water tends to form discrete droplets that stick to the inside, you know that there’s still residue.
Add salt to taste.
If you’re not so good at reading water droplets, try divining with some salt instead. With your still-wet beer glass, sprinkle salt all over the inside and turn the glass upside down. The salt should form a uniform pattern. If not, the bald spots are where you still have residue.
If your glasses pass the test, congratulations! Whatever you’re doing now is working for you. Keep it up! If not, then follow these guidelines to improve your tasting experience.
- Never, ever, ever, never, ever, never wash your nice glassware in a household dishwasher! Not only is detergent likely to form an invisible film inside your glass, but any bits of stuck-on residue from all the other dishes can be potential contaminants. Furthermore, dishwashers can etch your glassware over time.
- After you finish a beer, immediately rinse the glass with hot water and clean it using a non-foaming detergent such as OxiClean or PBW. Some purists even insist on using little more than baking soda. If you wouldn’t use it on your brewing equipment, you probably shouldn’t use it on your glassware (and probably for the same reasons). Use a dedicated scrub brush that is reserved just for beer glasses.
- Rinse clean glasses thoroughly with fresh warm water and invert them onto a drying rack to drip dry. Don’t dry them with a towel, which could leave bits of lint clinging to the insides.
If you’re working in a bar or restaurant, you’re meant to dunk the glass in sanitizer before setting it out to drip dry. But at home, it’s fine to skip this step.
Finally, your mileage may vary, so keep all of this in perspective and do what works for you. I tend to follow The Rules for nice glassware from which I drink spendy beer. But after a summer evening spent drinking generic lager on the patio with friends, all of those brewery-branded shaker pints go straight into the dishwasher.