How Spain is putting aside to your favorite measure to drink beer

We Spaniards like to practice Terraceo with friendsa skewer and a good beer, but that It does not mean That we do it the same throughout Spain. Not even what The beer jargon be the same throughout the country. Especially if we talk about tap beer. Moreover, if you move frequently from north to south it is likely that you have found that not all waiters seem to use the same terms or even how the same word can mean different things, understanding by “different” the milliliters that you will find in the glass.

In case that “Babel Torre” was not enough, now (at least In part of Spain) There is an upward option: the cup, something that tells us about beer but also how we drink it and formats beyond the star measure, cane.

Spain, beer land. We Spaniards like beer. And that statement has few laps because it relies on contributing data and sounds collected by the sector itself. In 2023 its consumption stood around 43 million of hectoliters, with an average intake of 55 l per person. In fact (and although demand It has ups and downs) Its consumption has been winning weight In front of the wine, also linked to the Spanish table. That we like to take a good lager or IPA does not mean that everywhere you drink (and ask for) the same.

How do you drink in Spain? That same question was asked a few years ago Brewers from Spainthe association that groups the great producers of the country, after verifying that although a beer is a beer anywhere in Spain, the thing changes when we talk about how to serve it. “Depending on the format we want and the area, an act as simple and everyday as asking for a beer, if it is not done correctly, it can become a real challenge,” Recognize.

Where is a good map … To clear doubts, Cervecer did two things: he created A glossary and a map that helps appreciate how beers usually drink) throughout the country. The graph should be handled however with some caution. For example, the association recalls that although in Salamanca or Valladolid, tap beer is usually used in vessels between 100 and 140 ml called “short”, in Galicia that same word refers to “the lifetime cane”, a major format. If you are in the Basque Country, you better call it “Zurito.” Or “penalty” in Aragon.

And that’s all? No. The cane is the “par excellence” format and that word understands it in virtually all the businesses of Spain, but manufacturers warn: “While in areas such as Madrid the glass measure is 200 ml, in other places the size is superior. Thus, if a Basque wants to take the 350 of a Basque cane in Madrid will have to ask for a double, the most similar measure.”

Since the cane usually moves around 200 ml, the normal thing would be that the double was 400 ml, but that logic has nuances again. In Basque Country if we want that amount of beer drink, it advises to use another term: “Canyon.”

The wide brewing glossary is completed with words such as “Botellín”, “fifth” or “third”, which are the terms used for bottles depending on whether you want the fifth part or a third of liter. The thing is complicated, however, with exceptions: Asturias, Cantabria or Catalonia use terms as “average” or “median.” If you are looking for you will even find guides who speak of 25 either 30 forms To ask for beer, including “pots”, “botijos”, “tank” or “xibeca”.

Complicated? There are more. In case the “photography” was not complex enough, at least in part of Spain it is being added An extra factor: The form. That is, the key is no longer how much or how we drink beer, but what we drink it. That is: glass or glass. The nuance is interesting and slid yesterday The voice of Galicia in An article in which he explains how in Santiago de Compostela it is increasingly common to see people with beers in the glass instead of a glass. The question is evident: “Why do the reeds serve as if they were a wine?”

After talking with compostela hoteliers, the newspaper Slide Some practical explanations: the glasses are easier to store (they can be hung upside down) and there are those who defend that they help preserve the organoleptic properties of beer. In fact there are places that San Cups designed for the Lager.

“Optimal formats”. “The crystal is quite broken and you have to replace, but it is the best form”, They argue From a compostelano store. Galicia star itself claims That each beer has “its cup” and details the differences of form and use between the flute (15-40 CL), the Pilsner vessel (15-40), the tulip (20-50), Weizen (30-50), Snifter (30-50), chalice (30-50) or the teku, used in tastings and between 33 and 50 cl. “If we leave aside its aesthetic or historical component, it cannot be denied that some formats are optimal for certain styles,” The company points out.

Cup question … And something else. In the passage of the vessels to the glasses there is, however, another factor that speaks, rather than the bars or beer itself, how we enjoy it. One of Santiago’s hoteliers in fact explains that there are clients who ask them to serve the cane in a glass of wine, either because the glass is finer or for quantity. “The wine brings between 44 and 52 CL and the cane is 33,” clarifies the hotelier, who denies that the cane has less amount than a bottle.

The slow decline of the cane. The phenomenon also coincides with an apparent decay of the cane and other reduced formats in favor of others of larger. Two years ago Straight to the palate I pointed Already as many bars in Madrid (and other points in Spain) were going from the standard cane to the doubles, with premises that do not serve them or put a double in their place.

The “Zurito” in Euskadi and the “penalty” in Zaragoza would also face their sunset. Like the short in León. In 2022 Ileon He went out And he found that four out of 10 bars in the city center directly no longer offered it.

Everyone has a common characteristic: short drink formats. “What is most sold is double, then the third and then the cane,” a hotelieter of the capital acknowledged. “For a customer a double is more economical than a cane.” The capital also influences the demand of tourists from other countries and that opt ​​for large formats. Other surveys show that traditional beer cane loses appeal Also in front of other options, such as the Clara.

Beers served in wine glasses. “The general tonic is that people more and more ask for the cane in the glass of wine and that the heat reactivates it, but I think they continue to prefer the bottle,” They add In another place. It is not an isolated observation. A quick search arrives on Google for Check the interest by The advantages of the glasses to enjoy beer. The taste for larger formats, with greater drink (and more profitable), also connects to changes in our consumption.

Alcohol studies show that the prevalence of daily consumption It has been descending Over the years (from almost 13% in 1997 to 9% in 2022) and loses strength Among the youngest. That does not mean that the drink is no longer present in our lives. Rather, other ways to face it gain strength, moving from daily use to acquaintances Binge Drinking between The youngaccelerated binge.

Images | Jorge Fraganillo (Flickr), Jaume Escofet (Flickr) and Brewers from Spain

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