Firstly, cheers to @AZgman for solving the 'mystery' of the 8.4 ounce size (basically 250 ml)! This is the first time I have heard of a pintje glass and I did a little bit of web surfing to find: "In Belgium, you often order them in these little 25 cL glasses and knock them back like water. They are a counterpoint to the incredible local ales, which demand your attention." https://www.beervanablog.com/beervana/2022/12/23/the-next-big-lager-belgian-pils To the best of my recollection the only beers I ever had which was branded as "Belgian Pilsner" is from Allagash and Ommegang, both US breweries but they are renowned for their Belgian style beers: https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-weekend-42.658362/#post-7254097 https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-788.636827/#post-6849705 Maybe @Beersnake will encounter some pintje glasses during his upcoming visit to Belgium? Cheers!
@JackHorzempa and @AZgman. So is the idea that the beer served in these pintje glasses is essentially a palate cleaner? You slosh down a 25 ml glass of some lighter style ale or lager before turning back to your dubbel, trippel, quad or strong golden ale?
Why not!?! As I mentioned above "this is the first time I have heard of a pintje glass" so I am not the best person to respond to your query. FWIW, I am under the impression that serving Belgian Pilsners in these small glasses in Belgian Cafés is similar to how 'back in the day' beers were served in America at local, corner bars. These smaller serving sizes ensure that over the short(er) drinking experience the beer remains cold. Hopefully @AZgman has 'better' insights here. Cheers!
Well during my time in Belgium pintjes were normally local Pilsners and much like in Ireland when ordering a Guinness, you don't ask for it by brand name, but only by the size of the pour. "een pintje alstublieft!" (a small pint please!) Now when I turned 18 in the Northeast area of the US, small pints (8oz) were indeed a thing...
I visited Belgium (Brussels) only once in the early 1990’s on a business trip. I personally did not see any small glasses at the various Belgian Cafés I went to. I did see lots of advertising for Jupiler which ‘encouraged’ me to order one. While drinking it all that I could think of was: “This tastes like a Budweiser sort of beer. I thought that Belgian beers were supposed to be good” I should point out that back in the early 1990’s I was not the wizened beer drinker I am today. I just did a quick web search to find: “Jupiler, the most widely distributed variety, is a 5.2% abv, pale lager. It is made from malt, maize, water, hops and yeast.” So, Jupiler (the top selling beer in Belgium) is an AAL (a Budweiser sort of beer). The good news is that at another Belgian Café I saw on the beer menu “Duvel” and it was in bold. That ‘boldness’ encouraged me to order one (and another two). I loved that beer. I had no idea at the time that this beer was high in alcohol (I did not taste-wise perceive it) but after just three beers I was ‘feeling’ it. At the time I ascribed it to jet lag. One of these days I need to return to Belgium and do some sightseeing and needless to say enjoy the plethora of beer choices there. Santé P.S. I do have a Belgian Dubbel I recently homebrewed in the bottle conditioning phase right now (I will be drinking one in a week+). At least I have that going for me! @Beersnake
@JackHorzempa I'm surprised they didn't mention Bavik. Their Pils is often referred to as "Belgian Pils" although I don't think the brewery calls it that. It's really a Bohemian style and categorized as such here on BA. But I'll bet it's served in small glasses in Brussels, though I haven't been there in almost as long as you. In any case Bavik is a much more satisfying beer than Jupiler.
Well, being more satisfying than Jupiler is not hard to do! Thanks for your post since it reminded me that I did get an opportunity to taste Bavik at last falls Belgium comes to Cooperstown event at Ommegang. Now, in fairness I was also drinking lots of Belgian Trappist and Abbey style Ales there so...I thought Bavik was OK but given the context I detailed above maybe a less than fair environment to evaluate this beer. Maybe someday I will see Bavik on tap (or a six-pack) and can better appreciate it as a standalone beer. Cheers!
a local hole in the wall sports bar near me used to serve Miller High Life in those 8.4 ounce sham glasses for .75 on weekdays. this was around 2001. i would go there to watch NBA playoff games. the place actually recently burnt down (hadn't been there in over a decade), but it certainly was a novelty and popular. you could spend hours there watching a game for a mere $5. the more i think about it, the glass size was just right to finish the MHL before it hit room temperature and started to produce off flavors.
Just showed up on tap at my local. It's a very nice pils. On the light side for sure, but with a very impressive flavor profile. Perfect summer/lawnmower lager. Delicious!
LOL! I don't think it has any nutritional benefits and it has considerably more flavor than Miller light. It's very light bodied, but is still pretty flavorful.
Which I think is unfortunate. Just because a beer is light and refreshing, and suitable for quenching one's thirst after some laborious chores, doesn't mean it has to be a crappy, insipid, flavorless glass of AAL macro swill. SN is all that (light and refreshing), and thus an excellent choice as a beverage after mowing one's lawn. IMHO.
I had it on tap and ... cold, it tasted like a slightly more flavorful light AAL (less sweet, since it doesn't use corn). I didn't notice any hop character at all. I did let it warm a bit, and then I got that punchy Sierra Nevada hop bitterness that kinda takes it out of a Euro Pils experience. Personally it's not really for me.
