You’re out at the bar with your beer-drinking friends, and they all order a pint.
“I’ll have a pint of the IPA.” The bartender nods and pours a pint. Now you have a pint.
But what is a pint? What did you just order?
Ok, everyone knows that a pint is a glass of beer. The point is, plenty of people order a pint every day without really knowing what it is. If you ask for a full pour at a bar, odds are that you’ll get a pint. If you ask for a beer at most bars, odds are that you’ll get a pint.
So, let’s explore what, exactly, a pint is.
Pint Definition: Sometimes a Full Pour
In the United States, a pint is a 16oz pour of beer. This is four ounces more than you would get from most bottles or cans (typically 12oz), and it’s pretty much the universal go-to size for a beer at a bar.
An imperial pint, on the other hand, is a 20oz pour. If you order a pint in the UK, you’re likely to get a 20oz pour before a 16oz. Also, some bars will offer an imperial pint on some beers, so you can expect it to be more than a normal pour.
Then there are airport bars which sell 22oz beers. But that’s not a pint.
Next, we can break a pint down into other sizes. A half pint is (you guessed it) an 8-ounce pour.
Some breweries offer specialty drinks or beers with a high ABV that you probably don’t want a full pint of. In these cases, a full pour might be 12oz, 10oz, or even 4oz if you’ve just ordered a barleywine or strong, barrel-aged beer.
It’s also worth pointing out that some beer glassware can’t hold a pint, and that’s intentional.
Types of Glassware: Chalices, Goblets, Tulips, and Confusion
Depending on where you go, someone may pour your beer in an awkward-looking glass that looks like it should be holding red wine, a cocktail, or really anything but beer.
These glasses, depending on their shape, are probably chalices, goblets, or tulips. They are generally designed to hold 12-14oz of liquid, but shouldn’t be filled to the brim. You’ll be looking at something closer to 8-12oz of beer. Of course, some of these glasses do hold 16oz, just to keep things interesting.
Why use a different glass and not just mark “12oz” on a normal pint? Well, depending on the type of beer you order, a certain glass will bring out a larger aroma, help the bubbles come to the top faster or slower, create a larger head of foam on top, and more.
There are even more niche types of glassware, including my personal favorite: the Teku glass. Did I mention I love glassware?
How Much Beer Do Steins Hold?
Everyone knows what a stein is. It’s the big beer mug with the handle. There are plenty of types of steins, but the most common ones in pop culture are those that are found at Oktoberfest.
Steins can hold anywhere from 16-32oz. If you get a full Oktoberfest-size stein of beer, you’ll be looking at nearly 34oz of beer (exactly 1 liter, for those who know the metric system).
Why is it important to know the difference between glasses? Well, different glass sizes will tell you a lot about the beer you’re drinking. First off, you’ll know how much beer you’re drinking, so you’ll be able to gauge your night/afternoon/morning. Second off, you’ll get a better idea of the quality and style of your beer.
Nobody is going to pour PBR into a chalice, and you won’t be drinking a Belgian tripel out of an Oktoberfest stein.
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