A thirst-quenching GULP!
For the beer drinkers of the world: What's large, what's small, what's strong, what's weak, what's light, what's dark, and then of course there is the so-called "light beer, "Alcohol Arm und Kalorien frei" (low in alcohol and free of calories) yuk!
Our focus is on large vs. small. This tale begins with the uninitiated American who orders a beer in Germany. I recall my early days in Germany when I ordered "ein Bier," and the "Fräulein" would ask "Gross oder Klein" with the appropriate hand motions to make it clear that the question was "large or small." Wow, was that simple for my introduction to the German language, and their culture of beer drinking. Clearly this was about to be a great vacation, and my ordering of "ein grosses oder kleines" beer. My German had already advanced, no more simply "ein Bier, "gross oder klein," but "ein grosses oder ein kleines," - loved that additional lesson in the German grammar. Why then did a German sitting to my right at the bar order "ein gut gepflechtes," another order "ein frishes" and still another German, on the other side of me order a "Quickie?" The bar-tender told him that a "quickie" was just around the corner, outside the Bahnhof, but he got another small beer anyway!
Furthermore, to my shock, and total confusion, depending on where I was in Germany, my response to "Gross oder Klein" produced a totally unpredictable glass of beer. In northern Germany a large vs. small varied between a 1/3 liter and 1/4 liter (ca. 11 oz., and 7 oz.), while in Bavaria, the opposite extreme, between "A Mass," (1 liter or 33.8 oz), and "a Häube" (1/2 liter, ca. 17 oz.). Clearly I had not quite mastered the German language! And of course, I also encountered the "7-minute beer," - a 1/3 liter beer from the tap that takes that long to pour, a time-honored tradition in northern Germany.
Realizing that my initial introduction to German was minimal, I boldly continued on my journey, in search of more of that good German beer. This time my stop was in Düsseldorf, basically northern Germany, to the famous "Zum Ueriger" in "Altstadt: (old town). Here I decided to keep my mouth shut, nod when a waiter came by with beers, and let him place a glass on my table. In this observing state, I noted a group of young Bavarians, approximately 20, stand at a number of the small tables and begin to consume beer, the small 0,2 liter versions, the only ones available there.
Before I indulge into the complicated mathematical equations on liters and ounces, let me relate this delightful tale of that group of young Bavarians in Düsseldorf. Being accustomed to their normal, bavarian "Mass" (full liter), each glass was barely a gulp for them. Each time the waiter returned from the tap area with another tray of beers, he would simply replace the empty glasses with full ones at the tables of the bavarians, actually needing a number of trips just for these guys alone, mark their beer-mats to indicated the quantity of beers for the later totaling of their tabs. The poor waiter could not keep up with the drinking of these bavarians. Soon he was actually running, back and forth, forth and back, just to keep beer on their tables, and beginning to grimice a little. After about three hours of their drinking spree, these bavarians had had their fill of "Alt Bier," and indicated that they wanted to pay their tabs, individually, naturally. The waiter came by, actually he had constantly been there, looked at that bunch, took one of his shoes off, turned it upside down and showed them the hole in the sole inplying that that was totally due to their demands. Everyone laughed heartily, paid their tabs and happily left, taking with them their wonderful experience at "Zum Ueriger." Now you know how to drink from a small, 0.2 liter glass, and remember, "IT'S THE FRESHNESS THAT COUNTS!"
For those of us in the U.S.A., keep in mind that although a 0.3 liter is only 10.4 ounces, the glass actually holds 12 ounces, the same as you normally drink at home, at a bar, or in a restaurant., and you have "fresh, thirst-quenching" beer for those hot, sunny days in both the U.S. tradition and in the north-German tradition.