How to clean your beer glass

[Cwrw666]

I hate to see a publican or his staff polishing glasses - how do I know if that cloth is sanitary? It's a sign that their glasswashing is ineffective.

Don't they do it to try and look busy when there's nowt else to do - so they don't have to talk to the pratts on the other side of the bar?

 

[kelper]

Another tip, from Nisbets caterers, is to avoid fabric conditioners when washing a glass-polishing cloth. Glasses should only be polished AFTER they have been air dried.

 

[DJDave]

The salt test:



When your glass fails the salt test, use a paper kitchen towel to scrub the salt around the inner wet surface of the glass and rinse out with clean water. That should do it.

Totally agree with initial comments on how important clean glass is but take issue with Mr Coors cleaning methodology. It might be ok in a laboratory environment for a single glass but those hedgehog cleaners are a nightmare in the real world spreading gunge & bacteria from one glass to the next, and then rinsing the glass in water that was used to rinse earlier glasses yuk, even if it is running into an overflow sink. Water that you can put your hand in isn't going to sanitise, hand hot is what about 40 C, not hot enough to kill much in that contact time & I'd not want the last thing my glass to me rinsed in to be a chemical.

Dish washers used to be really bad for glasses, the rinse aid residue causing non existing head retention and flavour tainting. Wash and rinse temperatures plus the chemicals used damaging the glass surface causing misty blooming. In a retail outlet I would want to see a specialist brewery approved glass washing machine that produces sterile clean residue free glasses. On the plus side I think domestic dish washers are much improved today and are ok. I certainly don't have either head retention problems or blooming on my glasses & they go through dishwater as a routine. Water softener is fitted to domestic supply. (Brewing water is taken before the softener).

Seeing bar person using a dish cloth on glasses is a serious warning not to drink in that establishment. Unclean glasses in a pub really hack's me off & the other soap box is not getting a fresh glass with a refill. Todays pouring techniques with spout in the beer as it is dispensed whether keg or hand pulled is a real anathema to me. The two things together mean that infection is being passed around the clientele despite the hostile environment beer is.

 

[Mavroz]

I am also too lazy to hand-wash my glasses after use. They go in the dishwasher. I use the delicate cycle which apparently is for glassware etc.
Out of curiosity I tried the salt test and all seems good with the 3 I tried. The beer in them also seems fine, head wise and lacing when drinking.
Happy days, beer clean glasses all around it seems... sod the wine and gin glasses, they are hers!

 

[Crappyfish]

In warm water with washing up liquid by hand

 

[dave_77]

This has been getting on my nerves in recent weeks since I have stopped using the dishwasher. Started hand washing with detergent and sponge and then rinsing with clean water. Air dry before final dry with a clean cotton tea towel....

Grrrrrrrr.. annoying
Not sure if it's micro bits of cotton from the tea towel .or maybe the sponge that Im cleaning with has oil on it..time to get a separate glass cleaning sponge and maybe some microfiber towels.

 

[DJDave]

Why did you stop using the dishwasher?

 

[dave_77]

Why did you stop using the dishwasher?

White marks and bits of food occasionally stuck to the glass.

 

[StJayJay]

This post is from Cicerone, although it’s aimed at commercial bars, I certainly don’t sanitise my glassware after cleaning! I mostly use dishwasher tbh. If I am hand washing, I rinse with hot water, squirt of Fairy, fill with hot water and then use a sponge or brush to clean, then rinse with hot water and drain dry. If they’ve been away, I will give them a quick rinse with some hot water, let cool and then use.

https://www.cicerone.org/us-en/blog/cleaning-glassware

 

[danmac]

It's simple how do you clean your favourite beer glass. Long story short I poured a beer tonight into my favourite glass and I could tell it wasn't clean. I could hear and see the head bubbling. I know from working in a bar this is down to grease on the glass.
So the question is what's the best method of keeping your beer glass in tip top shape.

Ask my wife

 

[MarconiBrew]

I put mine in the dishwasher, they come out perfectly squeaky clean giving me a lovely beer.

 

[Fireside Ales Homebrewery]

I rinse glasses immediately after use with hot water and no soap or detergent. I dry with a clean tea towel or paper kitchen towel.

I tend to clean my glass with more beer. However, if I really have to, I will just rinse the glass straight out as Kelper does.

 

[DJDave]

Dishwasher everytime for me - wasn't always the case but today's dishwashers are just so much better than the early models. Recently gave up on a less than 2 year old smeg - bought because the previous smeg had given us good service for many many years (apart from the door opening mechanism which I kept having to replace). The latter smeg was really **** not very good, same model # just a much later version of it. Didn't filter food debris out very well, water sensor thing in the bottom pants design & repeatedly didn't empty properly. Replaced with a Bosch - expensive but really very impressive and dries glasses well with Zeolith. I do tend to use the 15 minute prerinse option when the thing is fully loaded to get rid of most of the detritus before putting it on for a full cycle the following morning. Do add dishwasher salt even though the water passes through a softener first and also add rinseaid.

 

[An Ankoù]

After a session I put mine in a sinkfull of warm water and glug a good dollop of bleach in with it. They come out bright and shiny the next morning, a quick rinse and leave to drain and dry. Kills infections, too.

 

[crescent city Mike]

It is rather amazing that so many put so much effort into making beer but have so little concern for the cleanliness of their glassware. Some years ago I realized my own negligence in this area. I read an article from an old journal which changed my thinking. Read it for yourself.
https://crescentcitybrewtalk.com/beer-foam/Take it to heart and never again short-change your efforts at brewing.

 

[krispn]

Back in the 80’s when we would pop along to the local and paly pool eat crisps and drink cola while the parents and their pals drank pints the bar keep had a device in his sink which had two brushes pointing upwards. He’d plunge the pint glasses into very hot water give the good Scrub with an up and down motion the. Rinse in more hot water and they would drip/air dry on a rack... Simple!