Bier · 3 min read
On Drinking a Litre of Bier
The Maß is not a novelty glass. It is a measure — and it changes how the bier tastes.
One litre, by law
At the Munich Oktoberfest, bier is served in a one-litre glass called a Maßkrug, and the measure is regulated. The glass carries a fill line, and a pour that lands short of it is a genuine grievance that gets taken seriously — there is a long-running Munich tradition of consumer groups publicly measuring tent pours.
Why a litre changes the bier
A litre glass warms slowly. It also warms steadily, which means the bier you drink at the end is several degrees warmer than the bier you started with — and Märzen is specifically built for that. The malt opens up as it warms rather than falling apart. Order a hop-forward bier in a litre glass and it turns flabby by the halfway mark; order a malty lager and it improves.
This is not romance. It is why the styles served at Oktoberfest are the styles they are.
How to hold it
By the handle, with your fingers through it and your thumb on top. A full Maß weighs upward of two kilos with the glass, and people who grip the body of it are the people who drop it.
When you toast, clink the thick base of the glass, not the rim. Rims chip, and a chipped litre glass is out of service. Look the other person in the eye while you do it — in Germany, not doing so is genuinely rude.
And pace yourself
A litre of Märzen at 5.8% is close to two American pints of strong-ish lager. Eat first. This is why every Oktoberfest tent sells enormous quantities of roast chicken and pretzels, and it is why our platters exist.
Keep reading