OOO 330 Glass

Designed by Nicol Boyd

Perhaps designing a glass thinking of how best to make it vanish is a thought which borders on the absurd but such was designer Nicol Boyd’s starting premise for the OOO 330 beer glass. 

Beer glasses tend primarily to be marketing tools- visible, distinctive, shouty. With our glass we wanted to give the user a new experience which was quiet and all about the beer. So much so, that we wanted the glass to simply disappear.

The absolute simplicity of the OOO 330 glass belies the obsessive level of thought and detail given to its shape, size, proportion and overall feel.

On the top level, the OOO 330 glass is carefully designed to offer the best possible serving of our OOO ale. Enough to be satisfying but not so large that it would be warm by the time you get to the bottom, a problem not to be underestimated in the heat of the Taiwan summer.

We carefully studied and tested various capacities before we found the sweet spot of 330ml, also the same size as one standard bottle. We then added a little extra capacity for some satisfying foam. The result is slightly smaller than many draft beer glasses but it means you will enjoy those last few mouthfuls of beer as much as the first. A small detail perhaps, but it makes a huge difference.

The glass is specifically designed for our Outstanding Ordinary Ale. The overall shape is comparatively slender and typologically sits somewhere between an American shaker glass and a pilsner glass, which perfectly reflects the style of our beer.

The subtly tapered sides of the OOO glass mean it is a pleasure to hold but it also helps to present a pleasing foam head while the wider mouth helps to bring out the beer’s flavor and aromas.The neutral transparency of our glass allows the drinker to appreciate the color and carbonation within their beer.

We opted to use Borosilicate glass, which is an unusual choice for this type of glass. It is lightweight and very clear but it is also durable and heat resistant. The cold cut edge on the glass is quite fine but does not feel sharp. It is another  unusual detail on this type of glass but it gives a more subtle feel on the lips when you drink from it. It’s almost as if it is not there.

There are however two key reasons for using borosilicate glass. The first is that it is formed with a manufacturing technique which allows us to create a nearly uniform wall thickness on the sides and the base of the glass. By combining this characteristic with a very carefully studied curvature continuous blend on the base we were able to create the optical illusion of not being able to see the thickness of the OOO glass itself when it is full of beer. Furthemore borosilicate glass is extremely lightweight, so even when full it feels feather light. The result is a glass which defies the senses and appears to be barely there.

The OOO 330 glass is an elegant yet stunningly simple beer glass which seems to be able to perform magic. Surely the embodiment of an Outstanding Ordinary Object!