Glassware

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The following list contains the various types of glassware one can expect to encounter when indulging in the world of beer.  





Becher

Becher glasses are cylindrical like stanges and pint glasses, but are much smaller. They typically hold between 200 and 300 milliliters (6.78 and 9.98 fluid ounces) of beer. Popular in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, they are typically used for serving altbier.










Beer Boot

Also known as a "Bierstiefel," the beer boot is a novelty drinking glass that has been popular for well over a century in Switzerland, Austria, and especially in Germany, where it is often passed around at gatherings as a sort of "challenge." It is made from either pressed glass (by a factory) or blown glass (from an artisan). When drinking from a beer boot, position the "toes" toward your body; doing otherwise will result in too much air entering the boot, and beer will splash onto your face as you finish!

Beer boots have grown in popularity on this side of the Atlantic as a result of the film, Beerfest (2006).






Branded Glass

The branded glass is any type of glass sporting a specific brand of beer, be it the Chimay chalice (pictured), the Hoegaarden hexagonal glass (see "Hexagonal Glass"), or the Samuel Adams specialty pint glass. Branded glasses are often sold in gift sets, paired with a bottle of the corresponding beer.

Chalice

Large, stemmed, and with a bowl-shaped vessel, the chalice is similar in appearance to, but heavier and thicker than, a goblet.  Many are etched at the bottom of the vessel in order to cause a prolonged stream of bubbles, to maintain head. Chalices are most often used to serve higher-end "sipping beers" such as Belgian abbey ales and German bocks.










Conical Pint Glass

The pint glass is the standard glass in which beer is served--at least stateside--and the conical variety is the pint most commonly used.  Typically about six inches tall and holding 16 fluid ounces of beer--a pint, as the name indicates--conical pint glasses are also commonly referred to as "shaker pints" due to their frequent usage in mixology.










Dimpled Glass Pint Jug

Also called a "handle," because, well, it has one, the dimpled glass pint jug is a common alternative to the traditional pint glass, especially among older drinkers in Great Britain, where it as enjoyed a renaissance of sorts.  Thick with a "dimpled" pattern around the glass, reminiscent of a World War II-era hand grenade, that serves also to prevent slippage during handling--a particularly handy feature during manual washing. The jug's thickness serves to allow it to withstand repeated exposure to drastic changes in water temperature, as well as frequent washing.









Flute

Like that of its champagne cousin, the narrow shape and contour of the beer flute serves to maintain a beer's carbonation and aromatic front, as well as to display its lively appearance.  Flutes typically hold around 14 fluid ounces and are generally used to serve fruit beers (such as krieks) and Belgian lambics.











Footed Gibraltar

The footed gibraltar is a variation on the footed pilsener glass, the main distinctions being its thicker composition and Collins-like pattern around the outside. As with standard footed pilseners, they usually hold 12-18 fluid ounces. Because of their added structural strength, gibraltars are often utilized to serve frozen cocktails in addition to beer.










Footed Pilsener

As the name suggests, the footed pilsener is a pilsener glass with a "foot," or a small stem. Typically between 12 and 18 fluid ounces, they are typically used for, well, pilseners, but also for pale lagers and light beers.  (See also, "Footed Gibraltar.")











Goblet

Often considered synonymous with chalices, goblets are typically thinner and more delicate, and generally feature a less pronounced stem. Like chalices, however, they are usually called upon to serve Belgian abbey ales and other specialty brews.












Half-Yard

The little brother to the yard glass (as the name clearly indicates), the half-yard is a novelty glass that holds roughly 1.25 imperial pints of beer (about 25 fluid ounces).  Aesthetically, it features a bulbous--sometimes even spherical--bottom and a shaft that either gradually widens, or remains cylindrically straight until it reaches a flared top.

Half-yards are popular at festivals and among college students, where they are a fairly common sight at parties, used much in the same way as beer boots.  They are often housed in a wooden stand (like a kwak), as pictured here.








Hexagonal Glass

Essentially a Collins glass, the hexagonal glass, as the name suggests, features a six-sided exterior save for the slightly conical top portion. As pictured, the Hoegaarden branded hexagonal is the most known specimen.












Humpen

Popular in Germany, the humpen is a robust, typically ceramic mug, generally with a half-liter (16.9 fluid ounce) capacity.  The term "humpen" is often used interchangeably with "stein."











Kwak

Long ago, in the early nineteenth century, an innkeeper named Pauwel Kwak designed a special beer glass for traveling coachmen who patronized his inn, tavern, and brewery--or so the makers of the Belgian amber ale that bears his name suggest. In stark contrast, Pauwel Kwak--the beer--was not introduced until the 1980s, but like many Belgian specialty brews, it features its own branded vessel, also named for the famed innkeeper. The glass itself takes on the appearance of a half-yard, complete with a wooden housing stand, but the kwak is a bit shorter and has a wider mouth.







Masskrug

Masskrugs are glass tankards or steins with handles and a dimpled exterior pattern. They differ from the dimpled pint jug of the U.K. in that the vessel is cylindrical rather than arched. The term "masskrug" is German for "liter mug," as this is just how much beer it will hold. Masskrugs are typically the glass of choice for pale lagers, especially of the Munich or Helles variety.










Nonic Pint Glass

A variation of the more common conical pint, the nonic version sports one chief difference: A bulge near the top. As with the dimples of a masskrug or dimpled pint jug, the bulge serves many practical purposes and is not there just for looks. It serves to improve grip; as a deterrent to chipped glass at the rim; and to prevent glasses from sticking together when stacked atop each other.










Pilsener

Generally smaller than pint glasses, pilseners are tall, slender, and tapered, with broad tops to maintain head. They are used for pale lagers, light beers, and, well, pilseners!











Pint Glass

The pint glass is perhaps the American standard glass for serving draught beer.  Holding 16 fluid ounces (or 20, if sized for imperial pints in Europe), pint glasses come in two major varieties: Conical (pictured here) and nonic.











Pousse-Cafe Glass

The pousse-cafe glass is a small, stemmed drinking glass with a tulip-like body, typically ranging in capacity from 1.5 to 6 fluid ounces. The smallest are usually reserved for cordials and layered shots, while the largest are often used for taller layered cocktails and coffee drinks--in fact, the term "pousse-cafe" literally means "push the coffee" in French. 

Pousse-Cafe glasses are also occasionally used for specialty beers.

Seidel

The seidel is a standard glass mug, modeled after the stein, and also German by origin. Seidels typically feature a vertically "ribbed" exterior pattern and come in a range of sizes, from 10 fluid ounces to an entire liter (33.8 fluid ounces). The term "seidel" is sometimes also used to described the dimpled pint jug of Great Britain.

Shot Glass

Typically used for straight shots of hard liquor, shot glasses usually hold only 1.5-2 fluid ounces of liquid, which make them impractical for beer. The one major exception is "Power Hour," a drinking game popular among college students, in which a participant drinks exactly one shot of beer every minute for an entire hour.









Snifter

Snifters are short, stemmed glasses with round and wide-bottomed vessels that narrow toward the top. Though more commonly associated with brandy, cognac, and certain kinds of scotch and whiskey, they are also used to serve strong beers with much higher than average ABV (alcohol by volume), such as imperial stouts and Baltic porters. Though somewhat similar to chalices and goblets, snifters are thinner with narrower mouths.










Stange

Yet another beer glass popular in Germany, the stange is a high but narrow cylindrical glass typically used for Kolsch. Stanges typically hold only 100-200 milliliters (3.39-6.78 fluid ounces, and are carried in a special tray called a "kranz" ("wreath"), which contains holes for this purpose.








Stein

The stein is the quintessential traditional German drinking vessel. Ranging in capacity from a half to a full liter, they are typically made of stoneware, pewter, porcelain, wood, crystal glass, or silver. They can be open-topped, but traditionally have hinged lids that are operated with a thumb-lever; in fact, the classic lidded beer stein is believed to have originated during the Black Plague as a means of preventing diseased flies and insects from entering the beer.

What sets steins apart from other drinking vessels is their elaborate appearance. They are often decorated with nostalgic imagery pertaining to Germany or Bavaria.







Tankard

Tankards are often collector's items but still have practical use as everyday drinking vessels. Popular in the U.K. and Ireland, they are large, cylindrical mugs with handles, usually made from silver, pewter, or glass, but sometimes from wood, ceramic, or even leather. They can also have hinged lids, like steins.

The bottoms of tankards are often glass, even when the rest of the body is made of something else. There are three legends often told as to how this practice came to fruition. The first declares that the glass bottom served as a means for a young Englishman to refuse the "King's Shilling" (or "Queen's Shilling," if that be the case) that entailed conscription, or recruitment into the armed forces. The shilling was often placed into a mug of beer by the recruiter; with the glass bottom, the drinker could see the shilling, and choose to refuse the beer, and hence the conscription offer along with it. The second legend attests to the glass bottom's usefulness in self defense; in a pub fight, a drinker with his vessel to his mouth was in a vulnerable position, and with a clear bottom, could "see it coming." The third legend simply held that the drinker could use the glass bottom to judge the clarity of the beer contained therein.




Thistle

The visual cousin of the tulip glass, the thistle is roughly the same size and shape but features an even more bulbous bottom in the vessel and a much more conical top portion. These glasses are especially popular in Belgium, where they are commonly used to serve Belgian Scotch ales.











Toby Jug

The Toby Jug is perhaps the best example of a beer-drinking vessel with no practical purpose in modern settings. Strictly a novelty, it remains a collector's item and museum attraction (the American Toby Jug Museum in Evanston, Illinois).

The vessel itself is a pottery jug in the form of a seated person, or the head of a recognizable individual (often an English king). The figure depicted is usually heavyset, dressed in eighteenth-century clothing (including a tricorn hat), and often shown drinking a beer of his own and/or smoking a pipe. The jug features a handle at the figure's rear, and the top--the aforementioned hat--typically serves as a removable lid and pouring spout.

There are three accounts frequently given as to the origin of the name, "Toby Jug." The first claims the namesake to be none other than Sir Toby Belch, a character in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Another suggests an individual named Henry Elwes, a notorious drunk who hailed from Yorkshire, England in the mid-1700s and often went by the alias "Toby Fillpot." (In fact, Toby Jugs are often referred to as "Fillpots" for this reason.) The third legend attests to "The Brown Jug," a popular old English drinking song, as being the inspiration for the jug's creation.

In reality, the earliest Toby Jugs were produced by potters in and around Staffordshire, England in the 1760s.




Tulip

Typically holding 12-18 fluid ounces, tulip glasses are stemmed, curved, and visually striking, featuring a vessel that is bulbed at the bottom, contoured inward toward the top. Some shorter tulip glasses resemble a cross between a snifter and a goblet. They are effective in trapping a beer's aroma and maintain its head--the latter of which is aided by the lipped mouth. Tulips are ideal for Scottish and Belgian ales, double IPAs, and other varieties of beer known for a prominent aromatic front.







Weiss Goblet

The Weiss Goblet is a bit of a misnomer, as its thick walls make it more of a chalice. It holds 18 fluid ounces and is actually more commonly used for larger versions of popular mixed cocktails at corporate chain casual dining establishments such as Applebee's and T. G. I. Friday's.







Weizen Glass

One of numerous types of glassware that traces its origin to Germany, the Weizen glass usually holds about 500 milliliters (16.9 fluid ounces), which makes it slightly more voluminous than a pint. It sports a sleek, curvy, contoured shape, narrow and angled inward at the bottom, and bulbed outward toward the top before narrowing again at the mouth. The glass is designed to contain, as well as to showcase, the fluffy, foamy heads of wheat beers and hefeweizens.










Yard

The yard glass is not necessarily exactly a yard high, but indeed a very, very tall glass--or cup, since it is often made of plastic! It holds about 1.4 liters (2.5 imperial pints, or 50 fluid ounces), and sports a bulbed or spherical bottom and a shaft that is initially narrow but gradually widens toward the top. The yard, like its half-sized little brother, is strictly a novelty glass used for special toasts, "chugging," and drinking contests. It is popular at festivals and among college students.

Drink up.  Feel good.