Our Favorite Features of 2022

Like Riddley, I feel all kinds of wrong highlighting my own work as my favorite feature of the year, but this piece was just so fun to research and write—especially since I got to chat with my husband’s beer-world hero! What with the rise of craft beer (and the ensuing beer drinking snobbery), it was fun to dive into whether or not a beer glass will make or break that $25 bottle of spontaneously fermented beer aged for two years on Montmorency cherries (hand-picked, in season, of course). The short answer is: the glass isn’t a big deal (unless you’re using a shaker pint glass, in which case, we gently advise you to use a wine glass or invest in a set of tulip glasses; it’s for the best). I loved the history and lore behind various beer glass styles, but also that, in the end, you should just drink from whatever makes you happy. And in my case, it’s a bierstiefel, a.k.a. a 1-liter boot-shaped glass that, if sipped from incorrectly, will leave you drenched in beer. While I’m only being slightly serious, it really is a fun glass to drink from, and certainly will earn you a few disapproving (or approving, depending on your crowd) glances. —Grace Kelly, associate commerce editor