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> As previously mentioned this usually means 500ml and 250ml measures - but
> not always.
As with Belgian beers, German beers tend to have their own particular type of glass, and the glasses are designed to heighten the appreciation of the beer. Hefeweizen, Kristallweizen and Dunkles Hefeweizens are served in glasses that are tall and graceful, with a narrow base widening toward the top before narrowing slightly again. There is often a spiralling effect rising from the bottom of the glass. Kölsch is usually served in a simple, tall, straight, cylindrical 200ml glass ("Kölsch-Stange"). Altbier is usually served in a straight, cylindrical 200ml glass, (or "Becher") shorter and broader than a Kölsch glass. Berliner Weisse tends to come in a rounded goblet with a stem like a champagne saucer, which is quite appropriate, as it is often known as the champagne of beer. It is also sometimes served in a stout, straight-edged tumbler. Berliners sometimes drink it through a straw, but beer connoisseurs tend to frown on this, as it prevents a full appreciation of the aroma of the beer. Pils is often served in a "Pokal" -- akin to an elegant, elongated champagne flute.
Some bars serve beer in chilled or frosted glasses. It's generally better to avoid this, as excessively chilled beers lose their flavour.
A Krug is an earthenware or stoneware beer mug with a handle. The litre version is called a Mass Krug. A glass version of the Mass Krug is called a Seidel -- this is the one you see in Munich beer gardens. Some people tend to call both the Mass Krug and the Seidel "steins". In fact, a Stein, or "Steinzeugkrug" is a stoneware beer mug with a hinged, thumb-tabbed pewter lid. It is widely believed that the lid was introduced as a hygiene measure after bubonic plague, or "black death", killed about a third of Europe's population in the fourteenth century. Some areas made lids on beer mugs compulsory after plagues of flies caused understandable concern about hygiene in the sixteenth century. Decorative steins, often with ornate relief decorations, became a symbol of status and can be quite collectable. However, some of the steins you'll find are modern corporate marketing gimmicks and have no connection to German beer whatsoever, including some that are produced by industrial lager giants like Anheuser-Busch and Coors. I'm not a fan of steins, as I think you can't appreciate the appearance of a beer if you drink it from an opaque vessel but there are many other websites dedicated to beer steins and stein collecting (see, for example, www.steincollectors.org).
