One of the last farms from New York State’s hop growing heyday was located just a few miles down the valley from where this photo was taken. The Pindar farm in Middleburgh stopped growing hops in the early 1950s. It was an anomaly since it started well after the Central New York region exploded with hop farms, and lasted decades longer than many others. Most were wiped out in the early 1900s by an unstable market, two forms of mildew, hop aphids and Prohibition.

Some New York State Hop Growing History

In the mid to late 1800s, New York became the top place in the United States for hop production. In particular, this happened in a region extending just west of Albany to just east of Syracuse. This area ran in a band about 20-30 miles north and south of Route 20. Cluster and Fuggle hops were common (the latter to a lesser extent). The region was so successful that it caught the eye of Adolphus Busch, who acquired a hop farm outside of Cooperstown.

New York State’s historic hop growing epicenter in the mid 1800s to early 1900s.

The area was also rapidly transforming as the Erie Canal had just been completed a few decades earlier, catapulting New York City to global city status. Like so many other industries, the hop business was able to flourish due to the access to this superhighway.

Though the industry was largely decimated in these parts for the aforementioned reasons, there were a few that held on. They experimented with ways to fight the mildews (Downy and Powdery) and pests. They also sought other markets for their hops, like homebrewers during Prohibition, although it was not permitted under the Volstead Act. Later, during WWII, they found European breweries grappling with the ramifications of war as a potential market. They began growing hop roots from the West Coast and even from Germany.

Newspaper clippings alluding to a lucrative hop industry in New York State, despite that fact that it had already suffered major setbacks. Source: https://sites.google.com/site/jesskidden/hops/new-york-state-hops-post-repeal

An even greater anomaly than the Pindar farm was Segal Ranch. Segal began growing hops further north near the Canadian border in 1941. However, the location was not immune from the problems that had hit Central New York, and after a particularly bad season in 1959, Segal closed up shop in New York and made Yakima Valley, Washington its new home. This was an easy move as the company had already established a presence there several years earlier.

Source: https://sites.google.com/site/jesskidden/hops/new-york-state-hops-post-repeal

Hop Growing in New York Today

In the last ten to fifteen years, many thought they could plant a few acres of hops and make a decent profit. Most quickly learned it’s not that easy. A key challenge is that suitable land is needed. While finding vacant land in Upstate New York is not a problem, finding vacant land that is good for hop growth is. The land needs to have good, well-drained soil, and good sunlight. This eliminates a sizeable amount of sites.

According to Steve Miller “the [hop] varieties that are susceptible to downy mildew, for example, you don’t want to plant in an area where you have high humidity in the summer and a lot of rainfall on a regular basis…and I think that’s something a lot of people didn’t seem to want to recognize when they were getting on the bandwagon for planting hops.” The now semi-retired Miller was a hops specialist with the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Madison County and most recently the Executive Director at Northeast Hop Alliance/Hop Growers of New York. He is keenly aware of the challenges hop growers face.

Existing orchards and vineyards are in a good position to grow hops because they have suitable land, may already have similar equipment needed, and also have a built-in seasonal workforce.

Brooklyn based Strong Rope Brewery only uses New York State ingredients.

Some hop growers have partnered with the New York Hop Guild. The guild is a grower-owned hop merchant that helps farmers sell their products. Breweries like Strong Rope in Brooklyn, and Subversive in Catskill purchase from the guild.

One of the growers that works with the guild is Pederson Farms in Seneca Castle. According to their website, they were the first of the new generation of hop growers to plant hops for commercial purposes back in 1999.

Hops from Hilltop Hops and Barley in Oneonta can only be purchased through the guild. On their 20-acre hop farm, they grow Fuggle, Newport, Nugget, Cascade and Willamette. They have an impressive operation, including their harvesting and processing equipment.

Cascade has proven to do fairly well in New York. Miller notes “it has pretty good disease resistance. It’s not as susceptible to downy mildew and powdery mildew as some of the other varieties.” They’re grown near the old Busch estate, along with Fuggle and Willamette, at the Farmer’s Museum in Cooperstown.

Newburgh Brewing Company uses some Northwest hops in their Cream Ale (as does Genesee Cream Ale). However, they also use Cascade hops from New York.

Newport grows well here, but many breweries aren’t purchasing it. Miller, again, says “it has good disease resistance. It actually has a good flavor profile…and it’s one of the varieties that would grow best in New York…” He suspects many brewers simply haven’t heard of it, or don’t know how to use it.

Alta Vista Farm Hops in Cherry Valley grows a selection of traditional hops. However, grower/owner Conrad Fink says that the wild, or heritage hops that they grow has caught the attention of several brewers. Fink is also a board member of the Hop Growers of New York. He adds, “from the start, I have propagated wild hops that I have found in different spots around Schoharie and Otsego counties. I now have four different wild hops, and they all have different aroma profiles. So, I grow and process them separately. Brewers really like the uniqueness of these wild hops.”

He calls one of these varieties “Pindar”. It was found along a hedgerow of the old Pindar farm, and he transplanted it to his property in 2017. According to their website, the hop’s aroma has the following qualities “pungent, very strong aroma of tobacco, sweet pine, and freshly mowed grass.”

Dr. Lynda McMaster-Schuyler, a professor at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cobleskill, is studying feral hops. In addition to old farms, she notes some are also found along rail lines where hops likely fell out of railcars during transport many years ago. They are working on genetic identification, though this has been hampered by Covid. Most have shown some resistance to downy mildew.

The image on the left shows the Pindar brothers in 1939 (source: https://sites.google.com/site/jesskidden/hops/new-york-state-hops-post-repeal.) I suspect it was taken on their farm in Middleburgh in close proximity to where my family goes berry picking.

Green Wolf Brewing in Middleburgh is located on the other side of the river from the old Pindar farm and buys hops from Alta Vista.

The Future

There’s no chance this region will reclaim the status it once had in the US hop growing market. New York cannot compete with the farms in the west that are often several hundred acres in size. New York hop farms are generally about five to thirty acres. The largest is Chimney Bluffs Hoppery with 32-acres. Further, the drier climate in the west is not as disease prone. However, there is the opportunity for a small regional hop industry if brewers will support it.

That has been incredibly difficult since New England IPAs dominate the craft beer world, and many brewers only want certain types of hops to make that style. This is in spite of the fact that they can be made with other varieties. Many of the trendy hops brewers seek are tightly controlled by private entities. For a variety of reasons, they are not likely to be widely grown in New York anytime soon.

This Pilsner from Big aLICe Brewing uses NYS hops. The brewery has locations in Queens and Brooklyn, and will be opening a third location in the Finger Lakes region.

While the state’s farm brewing law offered some hope for hop growers, there are very few New York breweries operating solely under this license, which currently requires 60-percent of all ingredients to be from New York State. As it stands now, the law will bump this up to 90-percent in 2024. Breweries that want the incentives offered under the law, but still want to make Citra hazies, operate with dual licenses. They get the best of both worlds by brewing a small amount of beer within the guidelines of the farm brewer’s license while doing whatever they want with the rest of their production under their standard license.

In a short amount of time, New York hop growers have been able to re-establish an industry that is making world-class hops. Prior challenges in the form of disease and pest infestation have largely been resolved. The most significant challenge these farmers now face is the market. Consumers interested in supporting local agriculture, and reducing the carbon footprint of their beer, need to tell their favorite local brewers that they would like beer made with NYS ingredients.

It must be noted that there may be a new threat in town. The hop plant’s old cousin cannabis may prove to be much more lucrative crop for those with the land and ability as New York State just passed legislation that, among other things, legalizes the use of cannabis for adults, and creates a system for those looking to grow, process, distribute and sell it.

I was never one to purchase beer online before Covid-19. Once I started buying from breweries for shipping/delivery at the beginning of the pandemic, I began exploring other options. Though there are several services out there, Tavour caught my attention, and I now order from them every once in a while. Finding humble beer can be a bit of a challenge though.

Though better known for their Farmhouse and Wild Ales, Jester King Brewery makes humble beer too, including this Italian-style Pilsner. The brewery periodically sells through Tavour.

Tavour’s offerings generally reflect hype in the current beer market. That’s the antithesis of what this blog seeks to promote, but periodically there are some real gems for humble beer customers. For me, this has largely meant lager from the Pacific Northwest. Though the company is based there, they sell brands from all over the country. However, the app restricts what you can purchase based on geography to promote purchases from outside your region.

When deciding what to sell, Tavour assesses the market to determine what is popular among consumers. Part of this assessment includes analysis of beer review sites. They frequently note these ratings in the listing for a beer.

How it Works

For the customer, Tavour is incredibly simple to use, which can also make things expensive if you’re not careful. It starts by signing up and downloading their app. Once it has your information (including the address and credit card info used for orders) you simply scroll through the current offerings. These are limited and updated almost daily. You’ll typically find about twelve beers available at a time.

The app provides information about each beer to help inform your decision and has specific options about how many you can order. The information includes when the product was packaged. The limit per beer will vary, but there’s never the possibility to hoard a release.

Once you make a purchase, your card will be charged, and your “crate” will be created with a shipping date. This date is usually in about four to six weeks, but that can be adjusted. You can continue to add items until that date. Regardless of how much you order per crate, there is a flat fee for shipping.

The breweries I spoke with all said it’s quite easy on their end as well. Essentially, they pack a pallet, and Tavour handles the rest. The company pays the breweries a fair price and charges the customer a fair price.

Heater Allen’s Head Brewer Lisa Allen was most concerned about storage and transportation when the brewery was thinking about selling through Tavour. However, she has heard zero complaints from customers. Other breweries have the same sentiments.

Jake Atkinson of Human Robot Brewery likes the distribution model. Instead of going to a distributor and then a retailer, the product generally gets into the customer’s hands faster, and likely in better condition.

Covid struck shortly after Philadelphia’s Human Robot Brewery opened. Tavour has proven to be a a great resource to help get them through the pandemic.

Humble Beer on Tavour

The greatest success I’ve had with humble beer on Tavour has been with lager. While I lump lager styles together with other unhip, humble beers, there’s no denying it has been having a bit of a moment the last few years. Tavour’s offerings would appear to be a validation of that point.

Generally speaking, as a customer located in New York, the greatest availability of these beers has been from the Northwest, in part due to the geographic restrictions noted above. Wayfinder, Heater Allen and pFriem, among others, can occasionally be found. This would not be the case for someone on the west coast.

Wayfinder regularly sells through Tavour, and this collaboration with Modern Times and Heater Allen is a welcomed treat.

Ms. Allen notes “people that tend to buy from Tavour are looking for the next cool beer so they may try Pils once and never buy it again. I also have seen that Tavour tends to want our hoppier styles.” That said, Tavour sees some market demand for humble beer and is happy to meet the desires of those customers.

Covid and Tavour

Covid has had a major impact on the breweries that have contemplated using Tavour. Heater Allen had been contacted by them before March 2020, but they simply did not have enough inventory to use the service. Covid changed all that, and now people like me on the east coast have access to some really enjoyable beers, like Heater Allen’s Export Lager, Pils, Harvest Lager, and Coastal (a “Northwest Amber Lager”.)

Atkinson said, “we weren't even planning on canning until year three. We started canning month three instead.”

Not too far from Heater Allen, Wayfinder has also found Tavour to be a valuable partner while on-premise business is down. I’ve been lucky enough to get their Export, Czech Dark Lager, Terrifica, CZAF and their Hell. So, so lucky.

California’s Brouwerij West periodically sells through Tavour, including this recent collaboration with the legendary skateboarder Daewon Song. Their popular Pilsner Popfuji has also been available in the past.

Wayfinder and Heater Allen have been satisfied, and would like to continue selling through Tavour when the market gets back to, or closer to, “normal”. Though satisfied with the service, Human Robot are still getting their feet on the ground, and at most would anticipate selling a small amount of their beer through Tavour post-Covid as most of their liquid will be sold through draft accounts.

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If you haven’t already, Tavour is worth trying out. Just don’t forget about your local breweries and retailers.

Casket Beer got a lot of attention in 2020 for several posts about glassware. I am going to end with one more. This time a brief, bittersweet memory I often think of this time of year.

Like many other families, the holidays were always a special time in the Kain household, particularly once my siblings and I were grown up. As we returned home for Christmas, the house would fill with love and laughter, and it was whole.

I’m the youngest of three boys. Still referred to as “the baby”. Dave, or David, is next in line. Per official records, his name is Vincent David Kain. He shares his first name with my father and grandfather (they have different middle names). However, Patrick, the oldest, allegedly did not like more than one Vincent in the house. From early on, Vincent David became David.

A couple of nights after Christmas one year, my brothers and I had all separately gone out for the evening with our friends. We got home around the same time, and Patrick suggested we break in the pint glasses he had just given to David as a gift.

David had previously noted that he was fond of the tulip-shaped Guinness pint glass. Patrick, perhaps the most enthusiastic about our Irish heritage and fan of a good pint of Guinness, was happy to oblige with the glasses and the corresponding beer as well. I also enjoy Guinness.

The house was peaceful in the aftermath of the holiday. It was late, but the tree was still lit, and all were in good spirits.

We poured our nitrogenated cans of stout into the new glasses and took a sip. David immediately exclaimed, “that’s disgusting!!” Turns out, he never actually drank Guinness before, and the taste was a strong departure from the macro lager he was accustomed to at the time. Patrick was stunned for a brief second, then began fuming.

The aftermath is a little fuzzy. I may have ended up with the glasses. If I remember correctly, Patrick didn’t care that David liked the glass. The fact that he didn’t like Guinness meant he wasn’t worthy of the gift.

Regardless of what happened, Patrick gave me a set a few years later. For some reason, he had an abundance. I’m happy to have them as it’s a pretty solid glass for a pint. Similar in ways to the nonik, but with more elegance. My sister-in-law gave me more after Patrick unexpectedly passed away in 2008.

Suddenly, a glass that previously reminded me of a comical holiday evening with my brothers took on a much different meaning. I now cherish them in a much deeper way.

Yet I find they are often used in a utilitarian manner in my home, and I am constantly conflicted about it. At times it feels disrespectful. How can I let them be used for everyday things like a quick drink of water before someone runs out of the house? Or put on a nightstand to satiate a midnight thirst? In another way, it’s nice to feel Patrick’s presence in my everyday life, even if it does elicit a little bit of pain.

They do have their moments on special occasions. St. Patrick’s Day, of course. But also on his birthday, when I may drink Guinness a little cooler than normal since it’s in July. I may also have a pint on the anniversary of his death, but I try not to fixate on that date.

I like to use them this time of year as well, with a Guinness, thinking back to that nightcap with my brothers in my parents’ home.

I’m not sure if Stacy, my sister-in-law, has any of his glasses left. However, one day I will share a pint with my niece, Magdalena, out of the glasses I have. She was just six months old when Patrick passed away. I’ll share with her the story told here. David can join too…with an IPA.

Though I didn’t discriminate between styles, I had a particular fondness for traditional English ales when I got into craft beer. I may have been influenced by living very close to Mahar’s Pub in Albany, New York. The now-shuttered pub carried an excellent selection of beer from around the world, but they seemed to favor English ales. This included a well-managed cask program.

As the American craft beer industry has grown since my time in Albany, interest in English ales has not grown at the same rate. Traditional styles like Bitter, Mild, and Porter are certainly not popular. So, I was pleasantly surprised to see a few breweries in my area release some excellent ales in 2020. With concern that it has been a fluke, I reached out to them to see what their production schedules look like for 2021. Their responses are very promising.

While there are glimmers of hope for these styles, there are still challenges. Temperature is one of them.

English ales were often served too cold in the early days of the American craft beer revolution. Some breweries would often try to educate their customers, and some customers would often find ways to deal with this issue (e.g. order a cocktail and a beer, and drink the cocktail while the beer warmed up). People should understand the role temperature plays in their experience. While these beers may be good at the standard draft temperature in the US, they really shine if given the chance to warm a little. 

Another challenge is a lack of understanding of the varying English styles. This has led to brewers providing labels for these beers such as “Pub Ale”, to convey an idea of what the beer is like. This is understandable, but it should be supplemented (on the packaging, for example) with specific details about the style. “Pub Ale”, “Pale Ale”, or “English Ale” can mean a lot of things. Unless consumers know what specific styles they like or dislike, it will be hard for them to properly convey that sentiment to others.

Newburgh Brewing Company has been making a traditional Brown Ale for a few years now. On the can and on their website, they note “in the south of England, they prefer their brown ale maltier and lower in alcohol.” This distinction is important, especially since in the United States, where in the past, breweries often made the North East British version. This essentially meant a Newcastle-inspired, drier and slightly boozier ale. While I generally prefer beers on the dry side, this one is delicious. Fortunately, it has been, and will remain, a core brew for Newburgh heading into 2021. Breathe a sigh of relief.

Wild East Brewing, one of New York City’s youngest breweries, sells an Extra Special Bitter (ESB), labeled accordingly on their can, but they identify it as an English-style pale ale on their website. Similarly, Dutchess Ales released a beer this year called Heliotrope that one could certainly put in the ESB category. However, they have identified this as a Pale Ale as well. This is similar to the British breweries that identify their Bitters as Pale Ales once bottled.

The last challenge to note is clarity. Traditionally, most of these styles should at a minimum have good clarity. Perhaps not all producers aim to be traditional, and that’s okay. My preference would be to see these bright. It’s so nice to have beer with amber, brown or reddish color. Even better when the light can shine through your pint.

Threes Brewing made a Dark Mild and a Bitter this year. And they weren’t just one-offs. The Dark Mild, called Backways, is a collaboration with Burial Beer Co. and it was released a couple of times. A delicious Bitter called The World is Flat, one of my favorite beers of 2020, was also released on a number of occasions.

Co-Founder and Managing Partner Josh Stylman says Threes is “all-in” with their traditional ale production. According to Head Brewer Matt Levy, there will be a “noticeable increase” in production for these styles. He goes on to add “similar to the vibe we aim for with our lagers, a great English Ale tastes balanced and at ease. As time goes on we've realized how much these two worlds have in common. As such, we very much approach our English Ales from a lager brewer's mentality, which is to say that we allow for proper conditioning time when needed. And, we take a less-is-more approach in general.”

This is an ideal mentality, but it requires skill for proper execution. Fortunately, these young brewers and breweries have been doing an excellent job. Much better than was done a decade or two ago.

Dutchess Ales will continue making their easy-drinking ales in 2021. As soon as possible, they will resume cask ale production for the handful of accounts that serve in this format. Having a fresh Dutchess cask ale at The Grand Delancey is high on my list of things to do “when this is over.”

Wild East released a Mild this year, in addition to the ESB noted above, and both are scheduled to reappear in 2021. They’re kicking around the idea of making an English Barleywine, but that may not appear until 2022.

Folksbier, known for excellent lagers and Goses, have also been dabbling with English Ales. Late this year, they canned their Dark Mild called Little Owl. They plan to make more in 2021, and perhaps a Bitter as well.

Other breweries like Strong Rope and Suarez Family Brewery have also reliably had an English Ale or two available as part of their annual production schedules. Drowned Lands, another new brewery in the Hudson River Valley, released Hythe, a foeder ESB. It will be interesting to see where they go with that in 2021.

You may even be able to find some of these ales at IPA heavy breweries like Kings County Brewers Collective (KCBC) and Other Half. KCBC released an ESB this year, and Sam Richardson of Other Half noted on a recent Beer Sessions Radio podcast that the brewery was looking forward to making less popular styles like Dark Mild at their new location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Though not popular styles, the forecasted 2021 production is partially due to market demand. “We're seeing a lot of interest in low-ABV beers and a thirst for something anti-juicy”, Levy says.

Tyler March, Co-Founder and Head of Operations at Wild East shares a similar sentiment. He adds “we’re finding they’re somewhat seasonal in terms of popularity, but this year’s also been an anomaly with unpredictable sales patterns, so it’s hard to know how they’d perform over a typical year. Our impression is that they’re growing in popularity/availability within our local market and becoming more ubiquitous than they were a few years ago. Awareness and demand seem to be increasing.”

Customers may be more likely to try some of these styles from local brands they are already familiar with. This is a luxury craft beer drinkers didn’t have a generation ago when many did not have a local brewery. The obvious advantage of going local, as Joey Pepper at Folksbier points out, is that “these small beers are best when fresh.” And many craft beer drinkers these days are already familiar with drinking fresh beer.

Understanding the history and Differences Between the British Dimple and the German Tübinger

Long ago, the British dimple mug fell out of fashion in its homeland, but it is growing in popularity in the United States. With recent growth in lager production in the craft beer industry, breweries, media outlets and retailers often use a dimple when depicting lager styles of beer. However, more often than not, it’s the British dimple mug. This seems odd as the similar Tübinger Kugel glass, traditionally used in Germany and Czechia, is appropriate and readily available.

Origins

The origins of the Tübinger are connected to the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen in the mid to late 1800s. It was here that a glass called the Tübinger Igel, a stout, handled mug, was created for the Hedgehog Academic Student Association (Akademischen Studentenverbindung Igel.) Igel means hedgehog, and the bumpy texture is designed to match accordingly.

Tübinger Igel. Source: Stein Marks

Continental beer glasses with a dimple began to appear in catalogs as early as 1878, and are identified with the word “Kugel” (more on that below). Varying styles include the dimple. Perhaps most recognizable would be the Mass (you know, that big glass mug people hoist at Oktoberfest). The Tübinger Kugel begins to appear in catalogs as early as 1906, and was sold by a number of German, Czech and Austrian firms (examples were found in other places including France and the United States).

Stölzle catalog from 1878 depicting a variety of mugs, including several with a kugel design. Source: https://www.glas-musterbuch.de/

An early Tübinger Kugel as depicted in the 1906 catalog from Krug Mundt. Source: https://www.glas-musterbuch.de/

Tübinger’s were sold by the Germany company Brockwitz for most of the early 20th century. This image is from their 1915 catalog. Source: https://www.glas-musterbuch.de/

The Tübinger is depicted in varying forms here in this 1928 catalog from Radeberg. The upper left is a standard glass. On the right it is “mit Schild”, or “with shield”, which I believe is a flat space opposite the handle for branding. On the bottom left, the glass is “mit Bodenrand”, or with bottom edge. Finally, the bottom right is a Tübinger in a different form. Source: https://www.glas-musterbuch.de/

As noted in a prior post, I have been unable to determine why the word Kugel is used, though there are a couple of possibilities. Kugel can mean bullet, ball, or sphere, and the dimples are spherical. It could also be said that the mugs have the appearance of being struck by bullets.

Tübinger Augenkanne (eye can) is also used to refer to dimpled glasses. Historically, this term may have been more prevalent in Austria.

The Tübinger predates the creation of the English dimple mug by a few decades, as, according to Martyn Cornell, the English glass was first manufactured by Ravenhead Glass in 1938. That glass quickly rose in popularity and became a standard for many pubs.

According to Cornell, the dimple “may have been inspired by the glass beer mugs with a flat hexagonal faceted exterior manufactured in Newcastle upon Tyne in the 1920s and/or early 1930s”. That’s possible. Another theory would be that someone found inspiration from the Tübinger Kugel. Or it was a hybrid of the two.

Stout shaped mugs with a hexagonal pattern that Martyn Cornell notes are from Newcastle upon Tyne, and may have been an inspiration for the dimple. Source: http://zythophile.co.uk/2015/03/28/more-notes-towards-a-history-of-the-beer-mug/

Early Ravenhead dimple mugs that Martyn Cornell suggests may be from the 1940s. Source: http://zythophile.co.uk/2015/03/28/more-notes-towards-a-history-of-the-beer-mug/

Design Analysis

The Tübinger and the British dimple are somewhat stout, handled mugs, comprised of relatively thick glass. They will generally have two to three horizontal bands of dimples. A band of flat glass is above the dimples, and a rectangular pattern, or elongated dimple, is below.

The shape of the British dimple mug is nearly straight-sided, while the Tübinger has greater curvature. It also has circular dimples, though English versions include circular and square-ish dimples with rounded corners.

The Tübinger also has a line separating the dimpled section of the mug from the flat, upper portion. On my 0.5L Sahm Tübinger from Wayfinder, this band is close to, but not matching the fill line. The mug is made in other sizes, generally from 0.25L through 0.5L. They will typically indicate the proper fill line. Historically, in England, the crown stamp was provided to indicate the design served a proper pint, but this ended in 2007. Both style glasses can now be found with CE mark for Conformité Européene (European Conformity).

The British dimple mug on the left, and the Continental Tübinger on the right.

Sensory Components

As these glasses are often confused for one another, it’s clear that there is a large amount of similarity in their design. However, there are subtle differences that impact the sensory experience when drinking from them, particularly regarding appearance and aroma.

Those that understand how important an inward curve is at the top of a glass for aroma will quickly note the difference between these two glasses. It makes the British dimple less appealing with its somewhat wide opening and lack of curvature. The Tübinger, on the other hand, with a bowl shape, has an inward curve in its upper half. It fosters better head retention and bolsters the aromatic qualities. For most styles of lager, this is important. Liz Olive, Tap Room General Manager at Notch Brewing, says “the different drinking experiences between a pub mug and a Czech mug are probably pretty subtle. But lager is subtle.”

Both glasses have handles and thick walls, and this can impact the temperature of the liquid as it is consumed. This is generally not a problem, assuming the beer is served at a proper temperature. One potential scenario where it could be an issue would be with English ales in the US, where they tend to be served too cold. Sadly, though, demand for these styles is deleteriously low.

Current Status in Europe

As noted above, the dimple mug fell out of fashion in England. While it can still be found, it is not as ubiquitous as it once was. This is despite a brief renewed interest a few years ago, according to this article in BBC News Magazine.

While it seems the Tübinger’s origins are in Germany, and still sold by German glassware companies, you are more likely to find these glasses in Czechia. But even there, it is one of many glass styles that are used. A few examples of Czech breweries that have branded Tübinger’s include Budějovický Budvar, Únětický pivovar and Vinohradský pivovar.

Branded Tübinger mugs by the Czech breweries Budějovický Budvar, Únětický pivovar and Vinohradský pivovar. Source: https://www.instagram.com/

Contemporary Manufacturers

A few contemporary companies selling Tübinger mugs include Sahm in Germany, Oberglas in Austria, and Condec in Czechia. Sahm actually has two stout dimple mugs. One is a traditional Tübinger, and the other is called Praha (Prague). The latter is not as round as the Tübinger and lacks the horizontal band.

Oberglas, who have made this glass since at least the 1930s, gives it high praise, noting in their catalog “European beer culture is virtually unimaginable without the TÜBINGER beer mug.”

Cornell noted in his above-cited post that most British dimple mugs these days are made in China by companies like Zibo Hondao Trading Co Ltd, Bengbu Longyu Glass Products (they call it a pineapple shaped glass), or the Shanghai Jingsheng Glass Co Ltd.

The British Dimple is also made by the French brand Arcoroc, and their name for the glass, “Britannia”, suggests there is an understanding that the design has a connection to England and English ales. Oddly enough, their description for the glass states it is “favoured for tasting white or Gueuze beer”.

Finally, in the United States, Libbey sells a British dimple mug. However, perhaps in an effort to generate sales, they take a very broad and erroneous approach by calling it the “Dimple Stein Beer Mug”.

In the United States

How did a dated British mug become the go-to glass for lager beer in the United States? It’s unclear, though simple ignorance could certainly be an answer. A google search for things like “dimple mug”, “beer mug”, or “German beer mug” will lead you to the Libbey glass noted above. Those not knowing the difference could easily think this glass, designed in the British tradition, is the appropriate vessel for lager.

There are lager breweries with attention to detail that properly use and sell the Tübinger. This includes Notch Brewing, Dovetail Brewery and Wayfinder Beer.

It’s incredibly hard to find breweries in the US making traditional British ales. Even harder to find one using a dimple mug. Seattle’s Machine House is the only one that comes to mind. However, there are many examples of breweries using the British dimple for their lager.

A Czech lager poured in a Tübinger mug at Notch Brewing, Salem, MA.

A Dark Mild by Suarez Family Brewery in a Libbey British dimple.

Does Any of This Matter

Yes. The distinction between these two glasses matters based on history and tradition. Aside from the subtle differences in design, they come from different places and have been vessels for different styles of beer.

Further, getting it right adds to our experience when we drink, which is important for breweries in today’s market. Ms. Olive from Notch says “I enjoy drinking a beer while watching tv or folding laundry - in a glass or straight from the can. But the EXPERIENCE, of being in the taproom, a clean, Czech mug and three fingers of dense velvety Lukr foam? There is no comparison.”

If you took out all the other experiential components, closed your eyes and tasted the same beer from each of these glasses, the experience could very well be the same. But again, there’s value in understanding the differences and the history they represent. A history that is still not well documented.

* This post was updated to eliminate a reference that suggested Pilsner Urquell does not have a Tübinger Kugel mug. They do.