Traditional beer glassware

Others how about the bottle it came in!

 

I thought the dimpled mug was English.

I agree with your list

 

I think it is interesting, but it comes down to intent in a lot of ways, I'm definitely fascinated by the history of beer and beer culture historically, but I also view that fascination as a means to an end, essentially, how does understanding certain historical ideas and conditions help me understand the beer that I drink, the intent (in terms of the experience), and where does that fit in the context of the style of beer as I understand it.

A good example would be saison, I view the saison in three distinct ways, as a historical classification, a modern style, and a post modern starting point, in that historically, the saison is belgian and seasonal, and that's it, in terms of modernity, the jumping off point is beers like saison dupont, saison d'epautre, de glazen toren etc. and in the post modern sense it's beers that have taken the historic definition (or lack thereof) and used it as a justification to make anything that is sour or brett and call it a saison (they are not technically wrong).

So getting back to the question of glassware I would say this, while it is an interesting topic for it's own sake, I don't think it is approached in 2018 as it was historically, so other than just being something that might be fun to think about, I don't know how useful it really is as subject.

There are many people who view serving a beer in the same way one might make a microchip, which is not necessarily a bad thing but the question, to a certain extent becomes, what aspects of the limitations of technology and time help make the style what it is and does that even matter. What I mean to say is that, I highly doubt that by modern standards and historic glass was well made or clean or designed with a specific beer style in mind from a gastronomical angle, but to a certain extent, much like green bottles help define certain beers through skunking by the flaw in their design, some of these technological deficiencies might help define certain styles (a sour beer is a spoiled beer that has been spoiled on purpose). So the question is finally (for me), based on all of these factors, do these historical conditions matter in any way to how I understand and appreciate beer, as a beverage?

 

I remember seeing the big glass boot (das boot) in the movie beerfest, but didn't see it in germany at all. I assume these glasses have been used, but are more of a decorative thing for the most part.

I saw a non traditional beer receptacle being used on a skateboarding show recently. These guys cut the tops off of green bell peppers and drink a beer out of them before cooking with them on the grill. Slightly off topic, but I usually am.

 

US: The shell, sham pilsner and hourglass:

(jpegs borrowed from 'net, not exactly to scale).

 

There's a great Martyn Cornell piece about the history of English beer glasses here:
http://zythophile.co.uk/2007/06/29/a-short-history-of-beer-glasses/

I agree with him about the awfulness of nonics, but yes, they were the default pint glass in pubs for a long time. I think I probably see more straight sided glasses these days, but that might be a function of the sort of pub I drink in.

 

I certainly would not state this is "traditional" but when I was coming of age (drinking age) there were bars at the Jersey shore that would serve cheap beer in Goldfish bowls:

 

Yes. Back when I was barely old enough to drink (legally), I put away more than a few 25-cent draws of Columbus-brewed Gambrinus served up in one of these thumbprint goblets. It's the first one that came to mind. I'd also suggest the wine glass and the champagne flute, although those may not be as widely used as the ones listed on the OP.



Gambrinus was one of the brands produced by August Wagner Breweries in Columbus, OH. The brewery is long gone, but the King Gambrinus statue still stands in Columbus' Brewery District.

 

My favorite type of traditional glass is the German/Czech pilsner glass.

 

Reminds me of an Always sunny episode where they drink these bright blue drink from bowls like this.

Enjoy

 

Any 'traditional' glass means that it has been around for a while, and to me that means European in origin. Not much history is included here in Wikipedia, but it's a pretty good descriptive list of candidates for this thread: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_glassware

 

I have the same glassware, but Hamm's instead of Falstaff. "Born in the land of sky blue waters"

 

Yeah, they do turn up all over. I was always surprised at how many I'd find at flea markets or garage sales in multiples of differing brands, some not really "native" to the area. Turns out they were sold all over the country in Variety and "5¢ and Dime" type stores. Some mid-1970s ads:

Sure, they seem cheap but the BLS Inflation Calculator says 47¢ = $2.54 in today's dollars.
(I've also had people tell me they bought them as candles).

Yeah, those Gambrinus statues (of slightly different designs) were all over. Heileman, now City, had a pretty well-known one in La Crosse, WI (still there, I think) and the Boston Beer Co. brewery outside Allentown, PA., has this one (IIRC, they removed the typical multi-colored paint job):


Schaefer, the original builder and owner of that brewery added the statue a few years after opening in 1972, moving it from their Albany brewery (originally Beverwyck) when it closed.

(Supposedly, Rudy Schaefer offered to give it to the Krueger Brewing Co. in Newark, NJ when theirs fell down in the mid-50s but decided against it due to an outcry by Albanians.)

Other well-known Gambrinus' that survived Prohibition in US were at Fox Head in Waukesha, Haberle in Syracuse, Pabst in Milwaukee, American in Baltimore and Falstaff's New Orleans brewery (maybe one at their Narragansett/Cranston brewery?). I think there's one at a Modelo brewery in Mexico.

 

Sounds like someone took the beer glass terminology of "fishbowl" (typically a large goblet of ~18-24 up to 32 ounces) literally.

 

Albeit not glassware by definition a wooden tankard, which was called a stånka/ölstånka in Swedish, would certainly be traditional as far as drinking vessels go.