We’ve all missed a spot when cleaning the dishes. You know, you find a smudge on a spoon or a tiny bit of caked-up mashed potatoes from Tuesday night’s dinner.

In the grand scheme of life, who cares that your glassware isn’t spotless? As long as the in-laws aren’t coming over, there isn’t much to worry about. Right?

If you’re serving a beer in that glass, you better think twice about its cleanliness. Make sure that bad boy is “beer clean,” meaning it’s free of dirt or residue from storage or its last use. Tiny bubbles will bunch up around the culprit and can hinder your tasting experience.

There are plenty of reasons to only use properly cleaned glassware whenever serving up your beer. Today, it’s just as important to make sure that tulip is clean before serving up that hot new picture on Instagram.

Nobody cares what you’re drinking if they see thousands of tiny bubbles lining your glass. They’re going to call you out, sometimes ruthlessly.

Posting publicly? You’ll likely get a combination of light-hearted hazing (often featuring some memes referring to the dirty glass mafia), a bit of knowledge dropped on you about the blunder you just made, and possibly some embarrassment.

If you’re a brewery or representing a member of the service industry, you’re going to get a whole new level of shaming. As you should! I can’t believe the number of breweries that have shared photos of their beers in filthy glasses across social media channels.

Think about what that’s telling me as a consumer. Whether it’s carelessness, ignorance, lack of time or resources, or any other excuse, that photo makes me question your product and your brand.

Today’s all about brand awareness and social visibility. Don’t let that nasty glass define your brand, whether you’re snapping pics for fun or running your brewery’s social accounts. There are a few quick and easy steps you can take to ensure those glasses are ready for their money shot.

1. Clean your glass as soon as you’re done with it. (This also applies to growlers. And definitely don’t let those puppies sit around with a cap on.)
2. Use Beer Clean instead of regular soap. Find it in most cleaning aisles.
3. Give your glass a quick rinse before you pour. This will get rid of any dust that may have settled inside while in the cabinet.

Again, these are just some helpful tips to ensure a pleasant experience both enjoying your beer and sharing its beauty with the World Wide Web.