Out of almost 190 million litres of alcohol available for consumption in Australia, 73 litres go to beer. This means that beer is the number one alcoholic beverage Australians drink most, closely followed by wine with 71 million litres, and spirits with a low count of about 24% in comparison.
A hot country like ours is logical to be the home of such beer drinkers. Beer is a beverage that’s considered by many to be perfect at quenching the thirst and offering a bit of cooling down on a hot summer’s day, so is anyone really surprised by this statistic?
This is not a trend just in Australia, though. A lot of other countries like the USA, Austria, the Checz Republic, and Poland are also big beer drinkers, but what’s interesting is that beer originates from neither of these. Instead, the middle east is home to the first beer ever produced.
Beer: A History
The original zythophiles were actually situated in Iran, back in the 5th millennium BC. It was a beer made of barley and its invention was marked down by Ancient Egyptians who then distributed the recipe for this delicious beverage all over the world.
Nowadays beer is produced in virtually every country out there. A wide variety of beers are available, differing in things like the base ingredients, the percentage of alcohol within, the colour, and so on.
Everyone has their favourite type of beer they prefer over others as well as a favourite type of beer mug to go along. Beer mugs, however, are a very particular part of beer drinking. Just like with wine, for example, there are certain mugs that work with certain beers while others are considered more appropriate for different types.
Knowing what type of beer mug to get for what beer is a virtue and today I’d like to talk a bit about that. You can buy quality beer mugs Australia wide as naturally, the choices are vast, but how do you make sure you’re getting the very mug you’re after?
Well, here are some pointers!
Choosing the Right Type
As I said, beer mugs are all about the beer that’s going to be put within. Obviously, before getting your beer mugs for, let’s say, a gift or for your home, you need to take into consideration what type of beer the giftee likes best.
No matter if it’s a homebrewed beer or a store-bought one, each beer has its own properties and therefore is assigned its own glass, mug, or beer stein.
For example, beer mugs are the most diverse of the bunch, with the rules stating that they can hold each and every type of beer out there without it seeming weird or off. However, they are limited in the sense of where the beer comes from. Beer mugs are to be used with American, German, English, and Irish beers of any type only. Everything else needs a different type of glass.
Glass beer boots, for example, are reserved for assorted German beers and witbier, chalices are great for heavy, dark beers, thistle glasses are all about Scotch ale, and tulip glasses are reserved for heavy Belgian dark and IPA beers, red ales, fruit-based beers, and so on.
This all may be a bit too much to take in, but there are helpful guides online as well as salesmen in stores that can really aid you through the process and point you in the right direction.
Choosing the Best Size
Usually, all these types of beer mugs and glasses are designed to follow one or two particular sizes, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other sizes available.
Depending on what you’re trying to achieve by getting the mugs or glasses, you have a few options. If you’d like to gift someone a set of glasses, it’s best if you stick to the standard serving sizes like 330ml or half a litre.
However, if you’re looking to buy a gift that’s a bit more personalized, say, for someone who really likes the beverage, a glass that’s bigger can really have the right effect. There are mugs as big as one litre or a litre and a half that you can buy which make a perfect gift for someone with the aforementioned profile.
Unique and interesting, they are bound to be a fan favourite and quickly become your friend’s go-to beer mug when celebrations or get-togethers are in order. I’d recommend getting a mug of this size instead of a glass as such mugs are usually quality-made of heavy glass instead of the thin one featured in glasses, so breaking won’t be an issue.
Design
Even though the rules may be strict, the point is that each type of glass or beer mug actually comes in a variety of different designs, so your choices are not as limited as you might have initially thought.
The way the glass itself looks can vary greatly from one model to another as can the handle and the overall shape of the mug or glass itself. Furthermore, you can get mugs and glasses that carry brand names on them, so if your friend or you are a fan of a specific beer type, you can get a branded mug to round up the experience.
What’s more, some places may even allow for full customization of the beer mugs they sell, so you can really tap into your creativity and make a gift that’s truly one-of-a-kind.
Either way, there are virtually no rules when it comes to the design of the beer mug, so you can feel free to go with what you like and choose what you think is the best design among the selection. As I said before, you can buy beer mugs Australia wide, so you won’t have to get out of your way to find the perfect mug or glass for yourself or your beer-loving friends.
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