I remember the day well when a country man told me that I had shorted him beer. I was bartending at the local pub, and had just poured this nice man a drink. We had run out of regular pint glasses, and I had dipped into the new shipment of glasses that we had to pour this feller's drink. I knew that the normal pint glasses were US pints, 16 ounces. The new glasses that we had were actually 17 ounce glasses, but I wasn't going to announce it to the bar, since all of the other customers would be wondering why I hadn't given them an extra ounce of beer.
As I am sure you know, an ounce of beer is nothing to scoff at.
I then told the old boy that in fact his glass did hold more beer. He wouldn't believe me until I had given him proof. I filled up a glass like his with water, and showed him that a regular pint wouldn't hold all of it. He hush
ed up.It wasn't until later that I learned of Jean Piaget. Piaget studied the human inability to distinguish identical volumes in different sized containers. In other words, Piaget bets you can't tell if a tall glass really does hold more beer than a short one.
For example: Did you realize that in your standard pint glass, 25% of the total volume is contained in the top 1-inch of the glass? If you start to think about it, that 1/4 inch at the top of your pint adds up over the course of the evening. If you drank eight pints at your favorite bar, and each time the top 1/2 inch of the glass was empty, by the end of the night-the bar would owe you one full pint free.
But, thanks to creepy looking 80's 'do Chris Holloway, you never have to worry again. If you order your Beer Gauge, you can tell that good for nothing bartender that he can't pour a beer to save his life. Actually, you'd have to be a complete tool to pull this thing out at a bar, (Or very cheap...cough cough...Nate..cough cough...) but for $2 it's worth it to have one to show your friends.
Now friends in Japan, this makes us wonder about all that head on the top of the beers here!!! GIVE US OUR BEERS FULL PLEASE!
12 comments:
Of course, that beer guage is only good for the straight edged, sloping US pint glasses. Get a different shaped glass or a straight edged as opposed to sloping and you're screwed. I read an article about how people percieve volume incorrectly (It was actually from a barman who was showing how some bars cheat customers, by offering them smaller shots in a narrower, taller glass). Talking about getting good head (and who doesn't like that?), working in the local NAFFY (armed forces cafe/bar), I used to have to adjust the pints, according to where in the UK I thought the customer came from. If I heard Northern English, I knew they'd want some good head or else they'd complain (who wouldn't?). With the Sourthern lasses, they'd kinda like a lagerish head (almost nothing) on their bitter.
From back home, between 5 and 10mm would be the ideal image for a head on a pint (these are all for the old 'bitter' beers, not real ales). Things get more complicated when you take into account the different styles of beer. Thankfully at least, in the UK we have the pint mark, which is a standardised measure of the UK pint (gives about a cm room for head). In Japan, you go to a different bar and you often get a different glass, which may or may not hold a different 'pint'. Popeyes has thick, heavy glasses with false bottoms (take my mother in law - please.). Bulldog's regular sized glasses loook remarkably like half pints, until the easygoing owner smiles and shows you it is actually more or less a US pint (whilst sighing inside, as he has done this a thousand times for a thousand irked foreigners). Craft Beer Bar in Kannai has glasses that are so minisculey thin, you are barred from entering if you show signs of hayfever, as the slightest of sneezes could smash the entire collection. It's hard to believe they hold a pint, but they do. Another thing to take into account is the actual thickness of the glass. A friend of mine is a prominent potter (he has abundant head on his hair, too, so I suppose you could call him 'Hairy Potter' - his hands can do magic sometimes - ooer!) who also has a love for Nihonshu (sake). He told me that the thickness of the lip itself is sometimes designed for the particular type of sake. Thinner lipped vessels target a different style of taste (reminds me of my ex), as it feels different on the tongue (compare my ex with my present). I'm curious if such a difference (albeit slight) can be noticed when tasting beer (perhaps doesn't matter with brews like ruination), and if beer companies take that into account when designing their glasses (probably not). I'm curious if comparing two identical (stress the exact same beer, poured with same carbonation and at same time and with same temp) beers in different glasses (say Craft Beer Bar glass and a Popeyes TenTonTessie) would yield any differences in percieved taste.
At least we're not drinking in Australia, where often if you ask for a 'pint', they'll look at you funny (unless you are me, when everyone looks at me funny anyway). Schooners, stubbies, stuffed pigmies (made the last one up...or did I?), oh the list goes on.
I've had pints here with heads ranging from zero in a certain Ryugoku bar to half the UK pint glass in a certain Tokyo bar (and that was in a real ale - and they refused to top it up!).
Then you get styles or shapes of beer glass. Certain shapes are designed to stir up the sediment from say a hefeweissen or have a large open area partly enclosed to enhance the fragrances from say a Belgian trippel (mmm...Belgian trippels...).
It's a lot to think about.
I also think about if after reading this, if anyone thinks I'm on drugs.
Chuwy, yes I think you are on something. Remember the glass designed by Jim Koch just for Sam Adams? http://www.samueladams.com/Promotions/glassware/default.html
For the record, the joke about 'head', good head, beer head--never gets old.
And did you see that guys picture? Do you expect him to design something foolproof?
Japanese commercial brewers have very effectively educated the Japanese beer drinker to believe that 30% head is necessary -- NECESSARY -- to making the beer taste good. Some foam is good -- go to some places where they pour the beer with absolutely no head, and you'll be tasting a beer at less than its ideal flavor. But, once the foam is released during the initial pour, then topping off is what every good bar should do.
Chris, I went to the Asahi Factory in Nagoya with friends from KY. It was a special tour day where we were allowed to 'learn how to correctly pour a beer'. You should have seen their faces when my buddy JR poured his all the way to the top and they told him that he just ruined his beer. He said he was just practicing, he'd try better next glass.
Something that shocked me - really shocked me, was when I saw a beer poured in what I'd consider a perfect manner, up until, say 3 cm from the top. THEN, the guy pushed the tap the other way and filled the glass up wiht FOAM!!! WTF?
I almost screamed.
I heard someone say this was the German style?
I havent seen this done in Germany. Much better pints over there (and mostly 1 litre jugs, too). I think artificial head is like drinking beer though a straw. It stops teh aromas and coats your mouth and tongue so you don't get the full experience you paid for (and for 1000yen plus a pint, I want centre court seats, baby!).
Whoops. I mistyped the word verification and entered non oral, instead of nonaral. Freudian slit.
Calling me cheap? I'm just a consumer, I want what I paid for. Not 1 oz less.
...and chuwy, you wrote a novel earlier. damn. Also, contrary to DH's niggardly portrayal of me, I am usually way too excited to drink the beer to even notice the pour job. I have a one track mind.
Diod you just use the 'n' word?
I'm not sure, but anyway, I'm sure it's worth at least 67 points in scrabble.
Yeah, sorry about the long comment. Figured there would be a limit to the comment entry box. Doesn't seem to be.
Back in uni, I once handed in a thesis on Werner Heisenberg that was about 30,000 words long, as they forgot to say 1,500 words minimum (got a good mark, though). Also spent 3 hours typing out a ketiai email about European Christmases, for a Japanese friend who asked. She never asked me anything, ever again. Go figure.
Just checked out that glass.
Yeah, seen it before.
Looks like it they stole the plans from a coca cola bottle. Kinda reminds me of a fine, dark skinned woman with a short white miniskirt, for some strange reason...perhaps that was the intended subliminal effect...or perhaps I should stop spinnig round and round on my typist's chair.
Thinner walls maintain proper beer temp longer? Huh?
I think a good glass is one thing, but it won't do sh*t for sh*t beer. It'll just give your friends something to laugh at (not that mine need any more reasons).
Still, it'd be cool to say your beer glass has got laser etchings.
Oh my goodness - I got a huge word for my verification code this time. I dare scribe they actually deduced how many beers I had last night.
The Scrabble® word to file away for future game-winning effect is "quixotic".
3=)>
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