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I had my first Oktoberfest of the season this past weekend. As expected, it was glorious. It was also served in a stein. And while I don’t have any scientific data to back me up on this, I’m pretty confident that drinking a beer out of a stein is proven to make my beer taste better and my drinking experience more memorable. Seeing the bartender fill that glorious marbled glass vessel with brown ale almost brought a tear to my eye, and I have a feeling that I’m not alone in my reverence for the German’s beer hall innovation. Here’s why the stein is just better than any other drinking device.
Filling up a big 1L stein with your preferred lager or ale has a bunch of loaded meaning behind it. For starters, it means that Fall is getting close and Oktoberfest is right around the corner, signaling the start of the best time of the year for beer drinkers nationwide. Second, ordering a big beer like this basically signals to your crew that you’re in this for the long haul. Never have I ever only had one stein beer. If you’re going to ask the bartender to break out the special glassware, you’ve probably already committed yourself to a nice day drinking session that could take hours. Thankfully, having a full liter of golden beer in front of you makes the time pass by slow and always leads to a memorable experience post-steins. Or, you could just check-in early after wolfing down a Jimmy John’s #5 like I did on Saturday. To each their own.
Another foundation of my pro-stein movement is that it actually is a pretty decent arm workout. People wax poetic about 12oz curls but coupling 25+oz’s of beer with a solid, 2-5 lb glass stein is sure to get the blood flowing a bit. Obviously, this is more superficial than anything but these suckers do get heavy so come prepared. Hell, there are even stein-holding strongman competitions.
But, I urge you, please don’t drop your stein. I’ve seen it happen before, the glass shattered everywhere along with its suds contents. The patron left in shame. I’ve often found that I’m able to make my brain pay attention to gripping a stein more than a pint glass because it is heavier than you traditionally expect your beer glass to weigh which throws your brain a bit of a curveball and makes you pay attention to holding it more. Is this self-concocted pseudo-science? Probably, but it does kind of eliminate the whole “auto-pilot” function our brain gets into when we’re holding smaller items like our phone or an Amazon package that definitely did not need to be shipped in such a large box.
The final point is a bit superficial, I’ll admit, but damn does it look cool when you’re holding onto one of these things. Not only does it provide the optimal “cheers-ing” vehicle for ideal clinkage but it also looks great for Instagram. I’m not too proud to admit it. A stein-filled boomerang or a standard story video showcasing your glass masterpiece bubbling with fresh beer is sure to generate a good response. Bonus points if you actually get one of the authentic ones with the crazy Bavarian-inspired designs. There’s just something about a bigger beer mug – or maybe that’s just me. Regardless, I can’t wait to raise another one soon. Cheers! .
Respond
@TaylorLaabs
@taylor1laabs
Cold have summed up why with one line:
More Beer > Less Beer
*Could
Do you go hand inside or grab from the handle?
Hand inside is the most stable. But it does transfer heat from your hand
Photo checks out.
And Beer getting warm is the only con of the stein
Known at my Bier Halle as the “Mug Hug” patent pending
I went to Oktoberfest last year, I got so drunk I lost my friends and the subway. Only thing that saved me was having a card from the hotel to give to the taxi cab driver.
Don’t encourage Big-Stein.
Go ahead and down vote, but when given the opportunity I always go with a short beer. The colder the better. No love for the luke warm flat beer at the end of a tall pour.
Won’t get warm if you drink it fast enough.
*Quart Stein. No one knows what a “liter” is.
Went to an apres ski spot in Vail and they charged $7 for 1/2 liters and 16 for liters. I confronted the waitress and said it made no sense but apparently the “stein experience was the extra $2”. Jokes on me, I didn’t want to order 2 half liters so I got the full stein
I’m all in on the two handed stein grasp. Especially once you’re past the first… the real question is, why are you only frequenting beer halls in the fall? They’re excellent summer day-drinking venues.