''Glasses'' is a suggestion made by Jar. Has anyone got any interesting glass drinking vessels to show us?

Just about every Belgian beer has its own glass. The glass type is dictated by the beer type and usually will always display the name of the beer it represents. Here is a set of Kwak glasses, developed in the late 1700s, these novel glasses were made to be used by coachmen who routinely stayed outdoors with their horses. Because they usually wore thick gloves the long neck made handling the glass easier and the glass could be hung on the coach. Unsuspecting drinkers will try to gulp this beer down not knowing they will get a faceful of beer when air hits the bowl.

What an interesting story behind them, BurgGurl. I've never heard of them myself. Are your's actually that old ie 1700's?

Oh no, these are quite new actually - there are even larger ones found in some bars that offer competitions to "Drink a Yard". There's a bar in Gent (aka Ghent), Belgium called the Dulle Griet that requires a drinker to remove one of their shoes in order to drink from one of those larger glasses. These glass types are difficult and very time-consuming to make and therefore are quite desirable. This lead to many glasses being stolen from that bar and consequently they instituted the shoe policy. Once the shoe is surrendered it is placed in a bucket and hoisted to the the ceiling overhead. When the glass is returned, the shoe is given back to its owner. It's great for business!

edited to add bar name

That is another great story! I just wonder if there are some who get enough in them that they don't even realize one of their shoes is in the bucket! Sandy

The drinks are quite large and I would think that it would take drinking one glass to get a good buzz started. Unless there are multiple baskets for this purpose I can only imagine a few drinks being consumed at once as the baskets are on the small side. When we were there it was a Sunday afternoon and we were the only patrons in the bar. I snapped this photo of my husband's ransomed boot to remember the experience; I've also included a link to the sign outside the bar.


Sign Outside Bar

Dulle Griet

This glass was sent to me by my Nan in England in the 1950's. This is what my mother told me: during Queen Elizabeth II's coronation every schoolchild was given one of these tumbler's in celebration of the great event. My Nan who was a cleaner in one of the school, "obtained" two of them to send to my brother and I. My brother foolishly used his by washing it over several years the markings disappeared. I put mine away and it is still in splendid condition.



The inscription at the bottom of the Coat of Arms reads: Coronation of
Queen Elizabeth II, June 2nd. 1953.

How many of our British members have one of these around, I would be interested to know?

That is a fantastic glass Argus, I bet it's worth something too! Don't put it in the dishwasher for sure! It looks huge, how much does it hold?

We were in a bar in Bodenwerder, Germany and remarked on the shape of the glasses we were drinking out of (a bit on the 'tall' side). We were told they sold new ones like them, so we bought a couple.

The story about 'drinking a yard' reminds me of a German bar (in Canada) I worked in where there was a giant glass boot. This glass was filled with beer (it held about 10 bottles) and passed around, with every person taking one swallow. The way the game worked, the second to last person to drink paid for the next fill-up. As you can imagine, great lengths were gone to, in order not to leave a nice small manageable mouthful in the bottom, for the person after you. Not very sanitary, but they always seemed to be having fun with it. wish I had a picture of the boot, it would fit in this thread perfectly.

I think we might have one of those boots, but on a smaller scale. We have a huge collection of glasses from our time in Belgium, but they are all wrapped and stored in the garage right now - I think the effect is the same with the air in the bowl theory, am I right?

Yes, there was usually beer in the face at one point. And usually someone taking a prodigious second to last drink, nearly passing out from lack of air, but unable to finish that last little mouthful.

Not really my kind of thing, to be honest, but much beloved by large men who had already had a few.

Nice Pils glass TW, I must say seeing all these glasses and recalling all these stories takes me back to a great time in my life! I want to see more glasses everyone!

Wines, like beers, are meant to be served in the 'correct' glass. This is a Liebfraumilch glass which we bought in the wine growing area of Germany.

As I took my glasses off before I saw the full the thread title I didn't realise it was for drinking glasses before it was too late. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it...



My glasses without me attached.

British singer/writer Ralph McTell rarely tours in the U.S., and when I saw him in 1994 it might have been his first show in Philadelphia since the '70s. He played in a church basement on the University of Pennsylvania campus, and toward the end of the show someone brought out a rather sorry-looking chocolate cake and the folkie crowd sang Happy Birthday to Mr. McTell. I am pretty sure it was his 50th. When it was time to leave, I noticed the glass McTell had been sipping water from all evening was sitting on his chair on the small stage... so I squashed my guilty conscience and swiped it.

From before the days of plastic water bottles... from The Streets of London to Philly... Ralph McTell's water glass:

I don't have any interesting glasses, but if you are hot and thirsty, you may find this a bit tempting...



But if it's lots of glasses you want, I was in Woolworths today.

Okay now I have to go and have a beer.

I had no idea it was so difficult to take a picture of a glass... Ended up putting it on a black chair.

These were given to us many years ago by my brother and his wife. They are champagne glasses but have been used many times for shrimp and fish cocktails and never for champagne.
Note to self... need to change that and soon.

I don't have any special shaped glasses that aren't packed away right now, so here's a couple of very important glasses in this house, with some very good beer.

I guess it's no surprise that I have a couple of Toronto Blue Jays glasses. The small one in the middle lists all the members of the 1985 team on the back. That was the first year the Jays won their division in the American League. The third glass commemorates my fourth year college at Trent University, Peter Robinson College. Sadly, PRC is no more...

When I renovated my kitchen, I found these under-the-cupboard wine racks for my glasses in a restaurant supply shop. I love the look and it saves heaps of cupboard space.

Thanks everyone. Time to drink up and go over to this week's theme of 'Automobiles'.