German & Czech Styles: Glassware

Question 1

Munich Dunkel

Answer 1

Munich Stein, Masskrug, or Eine Masse

Question 2

Schwarzbier

Answer 2

Munich Stein or Willi Becher Glass

Question 3

Octoberfest/Festbeir

Answer 3

Munich Stein, Eine Mass or Willi Becher Glass

Question 4

Vienna Lager

Answer 4

Munich Stein or Willi Becher Glass

Question 5

Dunkel Bock

Answer 5

Willi Becher

Question 6

Doppelbock

Answer 6

Willi Becher, occasionally Pilsner

Question 7

Helles Bock

Answer 7

Willi Becher, occasionally Pilsner

Question 8

Eisbock

Answer 8

Willi Becher

Question 9

Czech Premium Pale Lager

Answer 9

Footed Pilsner Urquell Glass

Question 10

German Pils

Answer 10

Pilsner Glass (Footed or Unfooted)

Question 11

Munich Helles

Answer 11

Munich Stein, Eine Mass, or Willi Becher

Question 12

Weissbier (Hefeweizen & Kristalweizen)

Answer 12

Weizen Glass

Question 13

Dunkels Weissbier

Answer 13

Weizen Glass

Question 14

Weizenbock Pale

Answer 14

Weizen, or stemmed Weizenbock Glass

Question 15

Weizenbock Dark

Answer 15

Weizen, or stemmed Weizenbock Glass

Question 16

Berliner Wiesse

Answer 16

Stemmed Berliner Weisse

Question 17

Gose

Answer 17

Gose Glass or Stange

Question 18

Kölsch

Answer 18

Stange

Question 19

Märzen

Answer 19

Willi Becher or Munich Stein

Question 20

Altbier

Answer 20

Similar to a Stange, but shorter and wider

Question 21

What is the origin of the name of the Willi Becher glass?

Answer 21

The Willi Becher glass was designed by Willy Steinmeier in 1954. Steinmeier worked for a company called Ruhr Glas in Essen, Germany, and the glass was named after him (the translation of becher is cup.)

Question 22

What is the origin of the shaker pint glass?

Answer 22

A shaker glass was, and is, the 16-ounce glass half of a Boston cocktail shaker. They’ve been stocked behind bars for mixing drinks since the early 20th century, long before their takeover of American draft, as if waiting in the wings.

Enter the post-War years, a time when American beer entered a long, steady decline. Prohibition had forced the vast majority of small breweries out of business, leaving mostly larger brands like Schlitz, Anheuser-Busch, and Coors in operation. If you wanted a draft beer, this meant you were kind of drinking yellow, flavorless stuff—and in large quantities, since it had such low alcohol content.

Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at The Brooklyn Brewery and author of the Oxford Companion to Beer, surmises that this dearth of quality beer (though with plenty of mass-market brew to go round) was the shaker glass’s opportunity to rise. Why bother with a fancy glass when you’re drinking nothing special? “Complaining that your glass wasn’t good enough for your beer would have been like complaining your paper plate wasn’t good enough for Wonder Bread,” he says.

In terms of sheer utility, the shaker glass was exceptional. It was cheap, durable, steady, and stacked easily. A server needed to worry less about splashing or spilling than with a dainty flute, or about smashing that fancier glass on the way back to the bar. For managers, using the shaker for draft beer meant you needed fewer kinds of glasses in your bar, saving money and precious shelf space.

Question 23

What is the origin of the pilsner glass?

Answer 23

First created in 1842 in the town of Plzen in the modern-day Czech Republic, the pilsner revolutionized the way consumers drank and what brewers produced. Czech pilsners are known for their light golden straw color and brilliant clarity. These two characteristics are taken for granted today, but in 1842 most beers were brownish in color and likely very cloudy due to quick fermentation times and a lack of filtration. Even more interesting is that not many people knew what their beer really looked like. In those days, beer was poured from wooden casks into tin, pewter, earthenware, or wooden mugs. Glass was a novelty for the rich and very few common folks could afford to own glass drinking vessels.

Pilsner glasses, or “flutes” as they are often called, have a firm base of significant width to prevent spills. Above the base, you will find a stem, sometimes integrated as shown in the picture to the right, and sometimes separate as in the example below it. The purpose of the stem is to give the drinker a place to put his or her hand. The idea is that the heat of the hand will not transfer as quickly to the beer. The slender taper of the glass over a significant rise is used to maximize the amount of light shining through the glass. This will help show off the beautiful clarity and color of the pilsner. The narrow but tall design allows for maximum head retention at the top of the glass.

Question 24

What is the origin of the nonic pint glass:

Answer 24

The nonik (or nonic, pronounced “no-nick”) is a variation on the conical design (the shaker pint), where the glass bulges out a couple of inches from the top; this is partly for improved grip, partly to prevent the glasses from sticking together when stacked, and partly to give strength and stop the rim from becoming chipped or “nicked”. This design was invented by Hugo Pick, of Albert Pick & Co., who was awarded two US patents: design patent 44,616 (2 September 1913) and patent 1,107,700 (18 August 1914), although the design patent was invalidated, and which was commercialized as Nonik (for “no-nick”). The design was preceded by many other bulged glass designs, dating to the mid-19th century, which differed in having a severe bulge and different purposes (a stop for a jar cover, or placement in a soda glass holder), rather than the shallow bulge of this design. The original motivation for the glass was to reduce breakage when stacking (40% greater crushing strength and curved surface where rim touches), reduce breakage when tipped over (due to the bulge protecting the rim from impact), improve grip, and facilitate cleaning (due to shallow curves, compared to more severe curves). In the United Kingdom, this style was popularized after World War II, with Ravenhead Glass introducing a Nonik glass in 1948.

Question 25

What is the origin of the hefeweizen glass?

Answer 25

The traditional glassware for serving a Hefeweizen is called a vase and it very much looks like one. Personally, I’ve been known to use Hefeweizen vases to hold flowers on occasion and they do a fine job. The first noticeable trait of the glass is its size. It is considerably larger than a standard 16 oz pint and the reason for this is to allow for a beautiful layer of foam, or head, to rest on top of the beer. In the US, consumers often operate under a fear of being taken advantage of and expect a beer to be filled to the brim, When ordering a Hefeweizen it should be expected that at least two to three inches of foam will sit on top of your beer. I assure you that your bartender is not trying to pull one over on you. Next, you will notice the curvature of the glass. Hefeweizen glasses typically have narrow bases that open to larger bowls before tapering back in near the rim. The reason for the narrow base is to limit the transfer of heat from the drinker’s hand to the beer. The wider bowl and slightly narrower rim allow aromas to be trapped in a way similar to a wine glass and also allow for great head retention. Without this inward taper, that beautiful layer of foam would quickly dissipate.

Question 26

What is the origin of the teku glass?

Answer 26

The Teku glass was designed by Italian craft beer experts Teo Musso and Lorenzo “Kuaska” Dabove in 2006, and is manufactured by the German glassware company Rastal. This upside-down pint-style design allows the glass to accentuate and concentrate the aromas of the beer so you can enjoy all those funky, fruity, and hoppy notes instead of having them evaporate instantly. The 14.2oz size of the glass also allows it to perfectly accommodate a 12oz beer with just enough room to nose and sip without getting foam on your face.

Question 27

What is the origin of the stange beer glass?

Answer 27

Pronounced 'ShTANG-uh' The answer to this question is pretty easy. A stange glass is the traditional serving ware of a Kölsch. Stange glasses exist throughout Germany, but they are substantially more common in the Western region of Germany. And, of course, they are most common in Cologne, the home of the Kölsch. But let’s pose a more difficult question: Why is a stange glass? This tall, thin, perfectly cylindrical glass can be traced back to Cologne, where they are served out of a kranz tray like the one pictured. A traditional stange only holds about 6oz of beer, so a person could quickly drink several stange-fuls out of a kranz. The light carbonation of the kölsch style benefits from the smaller serving size. It is unlikely that the beer will be completely warm and flat by the time you finish 6oz. In a busy bar, it is also unlikely that your server will want to refill your 6oz glass every few minutes. Today, there are larger 12-13oz stange glasses, so bartenders don’t need to top you off constantly. Similar to other tall, thin glasses, like a Weizen vase or a pilsner glass, a stange is helpful for head retention and shows off the brilliant clarity of the Kölsch.

Question 28

What is the origin of the masskrug (or eine mass) beer glass?

Answer 28

They are also known as eine mass. Early steins came in all shapes and sizes, but a set of Bavarian laws passed between 1809 and 1811 mandated that all steins henceforth had to hold the same amount of beer, namely one Munich “mass,” which is precisely 1.069 liters (36.15 fl. oz.).