Where to buy beer glasses in Calais : the collector's guide

Calais Vins and Olivier Vins stock officially branded beer glasses alongside over 4 000 wines, beers and spirits, from Leffe and Kwak to regional finds like Trois Monts and Ch'ti. Knowing where to buy beer glasses in Calais saves a wasted stop, since the right glass sits beside the right bottle, and a 15 percent VAT refund brings the price down further before the ferry or the tunnel home.

We stock over 4 000 wines, beers and spirits between our two Calais superstores, and tucked among them sits a rack many visitors walk straight past : officially branded beer glasses. Calais Vins sits on Rue Gutenberg, just off the A16 at junction 44, Calais Saint-Pierre. Olivier Vins et Compagnie sits on the CD215 in Fréthun, off junction 40, a short drive from the Eurotunnel terminal. Both shops open daily from 09:00 to 19:00, and from 10:00 to 18:00 (until 01.00 pm for Olivier Vins) on Sundays and French bank holidays, with free parking right at the door.

Two shops, one habit since 1997

Jérôme Pont and Olivier Vermisse have run Calais Vins and Olivier Vins since 1997, and the glassware rack reflects a habit built up over almost three decades : a bottle deserves its own glass. A balloon glass holds the aromatics of an abbey ale close to the nose. A tulip glass gathers the head of a Belgian tripel. A straight ballon or chalice suits a Northern French bière de garde poured cold. None of that comes across on a supermarket shelf back home.

A shelf that grew alongside the beer aisle

Calais Vins stocks over 200 craft beers sourced mostly from microbreweries within an hour's drive of the shop, and the branded glasses sit right beside them, so pairing a bottle with its glass takes seconds rather than a search. Add the VAT refund of around 15 percent processed through Global Blue and Skiptax, and a proper glass costs noticeably less here than the same item bought once back in the UK.

Jérôme Pont, co-founder of Calais Vins, states that British customers count themselves as real connoisseurs who sometimes know their wine better than the French, and that many now come specifically for the craft beer section.

Practical details matter when you are planning a stop between the port and the tunnel, so here is what to note before setting off :

• Calais Vins, Rue Gutenberg, 62100 Calais, A16 junction 44, Calais Saint-Pierre
• Olivier Vins et Compagnie, CD215, 62185 Fréthun, A16 junction 40, near the TGV terminal
• Both shops trading since 1997, open daily 09:00 to 19:00
• Free parking directly in front of both stores

Three glass shapes turn up again and again on the rack, each doing a distinct job :

1. The balloon glass, built for warm abbey and trappist ales
2. The tulip glass, built to trap the foam of a strong Belgian tripel
3. The straight glass or chope, built for a cold Northern French blonde

Opening hours at a glance

Same rules, both shops

The rack runs from familiar Belgian names to bottlings that never make it onto a UK shelf. We carry the Leffe glass at 50 cl for €5.90 and the Hoegaarden glass at 50 cl for €6.50, alongside the Tripel Karmeliet glass at 33 cl for €5.90. The Kwak glass, 33 cl, comes with its own wooden stand for €11.90, and the Trois Monts glass, 33 cl, sells for €4.90, named after the bière de garde brewed in Saint-Sylvestre-Cappel.

Northern France, glass by glass

Brasserie du Pays Flamand in Merville supplies the Anosteké glass at 50 cl for €3.90. The Castelain brewery, home of Ch'ti, is behind the Ch'ti balloon glass at 33 cl for €3.90 and the La Cadette glass at 50 cl for €4.20. Christophe Noyon brasseur, based in Tardinghem, sits behind two coastal-inspired names on the rack : the Blanche de Wissant glass and the Noire de Slack glass, both 33 cl at €5.20 each.

Trappist ales and collector formats

Abbey and trappist beers get their own dedicated glasses too : Westmalle at €5.50, Orval at €4.90, Duvel at €4.50, Delirium Tremens at €6.30 and Petrus at €3.95. For anyone building a proper display shelf, La Corne du Bois des Pendus glass, 33 cl, arrives with its own wooden support for €23.90, and the Chimay glass stretches to 3 litres for €49.95, a size built for sharing rather than a single pour.

Jérôme Pont, co-founder of Calais Vins, notes that customers arrive looking for hidden finds like Fleurie, Meursault or Pomerol, and increasingly stay to browse the expanded craft beer section too.

Three families cover most of what sits on the shelf :

1. Standard 25 cl and 33 cl glasses for single bottles and abbey ales
2. Session 50 cl glasses for Leffe, Hoegaarden and La Cadette
3. Collector formats from 3 litres upward, built for a shared pour

Four breweries account for most of the regional names on the rack :

• Brasserie de Saint-Sylvestre-Cappel, home of Trois Monts
• Brasserie du Pays Flamand, Merville, home of Anosteké
• Brasserie Castelain, Bénifontaine, home of Ch'ti and La Cadette
• Christophe Noyon brasseur, Tardinghem, home of Blanche de Wissant and Noire de Slack

Glassware price list

Sizes at a glance

Most visitors place their order on wine-calais.co.uk before setting off, choosing from over 4 000 references, then collect everything, glasses included, through Click and Collect within a few hours of arrival. Anyone who prefers to browse on site can lean on the sommeliers, trained under Eric Dugardin, Vice-Meilleur Sommelier de France, who speak English and can pair a glass with the beer that goes in it.

Claiming the VAT back

Both shops run the refund through two partners, Global Blue and Skiptax, and the process starts before you even board :

1. Collect a Tax Free Form at the till, or download the free Skiptax app and scan your passport
2. Scan the receipt in the Skiptax app, or keep the Tax Free Form for the port
3. Scan the barcode at the PABLO kiosk in the ferry port building, after customs, or in the Eurotunnel passenger building for Global Blue
4. Receive the refund, around 15 percent of the purchase, within 48 hours through Skiptax

Beyond a single glass

A boxed glass travels well as a gift, and the Wedding Wines range gives couples a reason to add a few extra sets for a table setting or a thank you favour. For anyone who owns a PerfectDraft machine, pairing an official glass with a 6 litre keg reproduces the pub pour at home for noticeably less than a UK supermarket charges. Leffe Blonde runs to around £38.95 for a keg in the UK, against roughly €23.50 at Calais Vins before the refund, a gap of over £21 once the 15 percent comes back.

Olivier Vermisse, of Olivier Vins, says British customers describe PerfectDraft as bringing the pub home, but for half the price.

Three things to bring along on the day make the whole process quicker :

• A passport, needed for both Global Blue and Skiptax
• A pre-order confirmation, if collecting through Click and Collect
• Boot space, since glasses, bottles and a keg or two add up fast

Leffe Blonde, keg versus glass and pint

UK price against Calais Vins

The final word on where to buy beer glasses in Calais

Two Calais superstores, trading since 1997, put branded glassware next to the bottles it was designed for, from Belgian trappist icons to Northern French finds barely sold outside their home region. Knowing where to buy beer glasses in Calais turns a duty-free stop into a proper tasting kit, complete with a VAT refund that trims the final bill. As the craft beer rack keeps growing, the glassware selection looks set to grow alongside it, one brewery at a time.