Beer Clean Glassware: How to Wash, Test and Store Bar Glasses

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A "beer clean" glass is one with nothing on its surface for foam or bubbles to cling to: no grease, no food residue, no detergent or sanitizer film. You can see the difference in the glass, because beer in a dirty glass loses its head fast and grows bubbles stuck to the sides.

The Brewers Association puts it plainly: a perfectly poured beer requires a beer clean glass, and every pour gets a freshly cleaned one. Here is how to get there, how to prove it and how to keep it that way until the glass is in a customer's hand.

Bubbles form where CO2 finds something to hold onto. On a truly clean glass, the only place for that is the beer itself, so bubbles rise from the bottom and the head stays put. Oils from food, lipstick, residue from fat based detergents, or a dried film of sanitizer give the gas a place to grab. The results are bubbles clinging to the sides, a head that collapses quickly, and sometimes off aromas. The Colorado Brewers Guild notes that dirty or improperly dried glassware can even give beer a "wet dog" smell.

Three sink method:

1. Wash in the first sink with glass cleaner (not fat or oil based) at the recommended dose, scrubbing inside and out with brushes.
2. Rinse in cool, clean water. The Colorado Brewers Guild recommends a heel in, heel out motion: fill the glass upright, then tip it over to empty.
3. Sanitize in the third sink with water and sanitizer at the strength and temperature the product requires. More sanitizer is not better. The Brewers Association warns that excess sanitizer does not clean better and may be unhealthy for staff and customers.

Machine washing: use a machine dedicated to glassware, with detergent, sanitizer and rinse aid made for glass. Run at 130°F to 140°F with chemical sanitizer, or at 180°F on a high temperature machine that sanitizes without added chemicals.

Keep food out. Do not run greasy plates, eggs or dairy through the glass machine. Grease from food dishes destroys beer foam. It also helps to keep separate glassware for dairy drinks, soft drinks and juice.

Let glasses air dry completely, upside down on a rack that lets air move in and around them. A bar towel leaves lint and transfers whatever it touched last. Do not stack glasses, especially wet ones, since trapped moisture dries slowly and can pick up odors.

Run these after washing. A glass that fails any of them goes back through the wash.

1. Sheeting test. Dip the glass in water and lift it out. On a clean glass, water coats the surface in an even sheet. Droplets or dry patches mean a film is still there.
2. Salt test. Wet the inside of the glass and sprinkle salt over it. Salt sticks evenly to a clean surface. Bare spots show where grease or residue remains.
3. Lacing test. Pour a beer and drink a few sips. On a clean glass, foam clings to the inside in parallel rings after each sip. Random patches or no lacing point to a dirty glass.

The salt test is the quickest daily check for a new hire or a new detergent. The lacing test is the one customers notice.

A glass rinser gives the inside of an already clean glass a quick spray of water just before the pour. The Brewers Association's one rule for rinsers is about the water: it should be filtered and free of aromas. A rinser is a final rinse for clean glasses, not a substitute for washing.

• Keep glasses in a clean area away from grease, dust and strong odors (so not over the fryer, and not on a shelf where the kitchen exhaust blows).
• Store dry, clean beer glasses at room temperature, or in a dedicated chiller between 36°F and 40°F.
• Room temperature glassware is preferred for most craft beer styles.
• Do not freeze beer glasses.
• Do not stack glasses, wet or dry, where avoidable.

1. Glassware sinks or machine used only for glasses.
2. Detergent is not fat or oil based and dosed as recommended.
3. Sanitizer at label strength, no more.
4. Machine at 130°F to 140°F with sanitizer, or 180°F without.
5. Glasses air dried upside down, no towels.
6. Salt or sheeting test run daily on a sample.
7. Rinser water filtered and odor free.
8. Storage away from grease, dust and odors; no frozen glasses.

Clean glass is half the pour. The other half is technique and a well run draft system; see how to pour draft beer, draft line cleaning and our guide to beer glassware for which glass fits which style.

If you carry our beer and want help with draft and glassware standards, talk to our trade team.