29 Beer vessels and serving

A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wood or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, usually alcoholic beverages; a small barrel or cask is known as a keg.

A beer bong is a device composed of a funnel attached to a tube used to facilitate the rapid consumption of beer. The use of a beer bong is also known as funneling.

A beer bottle is a bottle designed as a container for beer. Such designs vary greatly in size and shape, but the glass commonly is brown or green to reduce spoilage from light, especially ultraviolet.

A beer engine is a device for pumping beer from a cask, usually located in a pub's cellar.

Beer stein, or simply stein, is an English term for either traditional beer mugs made out of stoneware, or specifically ornamental beer mugs that are usually sold as souvenirs or collectibles. An 1894 article on beer mugs in the American Vogue magazine describes various types of steins adding ″And it is to this [i.e. German] nation that we owe Wagner's music and the apotheosis of the beer mug."

Beer Stein Markers were puppets of knitted wool used by Bavarian beer drinkers to clearly identify their tankards when sent back for refilling. The puppets were usually about 10cm high and fixed to the thumbpiece on the lid. Traditionally they were caricatures of politicians of the time, both popular and unpopular. The custom was particularly to be seen at the Löwenbräukeller in Munich during the 1890s.

A beer tap is a valve, specifically a tap, for controlling the release of beer. While other kinds of tap may be called faucet, valve or spigot, the use of tap for beer is almost universal. This may be because the word was originally coined for the wooden valve in traditional barrels. Beer served from a tap is largely known as draught beer, though beer served from a cask is more commonly called cask ale, while beer from a keg may specifically be called keg beer. Beer taps can be also used to serve similar drinks like cider or long drinks.

A beer tower is a beer dispensing device, sometimes found in bars, pubs and restaurants. The idea behind beer towers is that several patrons in a group can serve themselves the amount of beer they want without having to order individually.

BeerTender is a home keg-tapping system manufactured by Krups in a joint venture with brewer Heineken.

Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, at home by a homebrewer, or communally. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BC, and archaeological evidence suggests that emerging civilizations, including ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, brewed beer. Since the nineteenth century the brewing industry has been part of most western economies.

Bottling lines are production lines that fill a product, generally a beverage, into bottles on a large scale. Many prepared foods are also bottled, such as sauces, syrups, marinades, oils and vinegars.

Bright beer is beer in which yeast is no longer in suspension. There are several methods used for clearing yeast from beer, from waiting for the yeast to drop of its own accord to filtering it.

A Cornelius keg is a stainless steel canister (keg) originally used as containers by the soft drink industry. They can be used to store and dispense carbonated or nitrogenated liquids. Cornelius kegs were originally made by Cornelius, Inc.

A drink can is a metal container designed to hold a fixed portion of liquid such as carbonated soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, fruit juices, teas, herbal teas, energy drinks, etc. Drink cans are made of aluminum or tin-plated steel. Worldwide production for all drink cans is approximately 370 billion cans per year.

A coaster, drink coaster, beverage coaster, or beermat is an item used to rest drinks upon. Coasters protect the surface of a table or any other surface where the user might place a drink. Coasters placed on top of a beverage can also be used to show that a drink is not finished or to prevent contamination. Coasters can also stop hot drinks from burning the table surface.

Filtered beer refers to any ale, lager, or fermented malt beverage in which the sediment left over from the brewing process has been removed. Ancient techniques included the use of straw mats, cloth, or straws, and frequently left some sediment in the drink. Modern filtration, introduced at the end of the 19th century, uses a mechanical process that can remove all sediment, including yeast, from the beer. Such beer is known as bright beer and requires force carbonation before bottling or serving from a keg. In the United Kingdom, a beer which has been filtered in the brewery is known as "brewery-conditioned", as opposed to unfiltered cask ales.

A flagon is a large leather, metal, glass, plastic or ceramic vessel, used for drink, whether this be water, ale, or another liquid. A flagon is typically of about 2 imperial pints (1.1 l) in volume, and it has either a handle, or one or two rings at the neck. Sometimes the neck has a large flange at the top rather than rings. The neck itself may or may not be formed into one, two or three spouts. The name comes from the same origin as the word "flask".

A frog mug is a type of ceramic vessel mainly used for drinking beer or similar alcoholic beverages. They were first produced in Sunderland before being copied in such places as Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Newcastle. These mugs were part of the tradition of drinking games such as fuddling cups and puzzle jugs. In this case the drinking vessels featured one or more painted or three-dimensional ceramic frogs or toads that slowly emerged at the bottom of the vessel it was drained.

A growler (US) is a glass, ceramic, or stainless steel bottle used to transport draft beer. They are commonly sold at breweries and brewpubs as a means to sell take-out craft beer. Rarely, beers are bottled in growlers for retail sale. The significant growth of craft breweries and the growing popularity of home brewing has also led to an emerging market for the sale of collectible growlers. Some U.S. grocery stores, convenience stores, bars and restaurants have growler filling stations.

A jug is a type of container commonly used to hold liquids. It has an opening, sometimes narrow, from which to pour or drink, and has a handle, and often a pouring lip. Jugs throughout history have been made of metal, and ceramic, or glass, and plastic is now common.

A keg is a small barrel. Traditionally, a wooden keg is made by a cooper and used to transport items such as nails, gunpowder, and a variety of liquids.

Kegerator, a portmanteau of keg and refrigerator, is a refrigerator that has been designed or altered to store and dispense kegs. By keeping the keg in a refrigerated environment and using CO2 to pressurize and dispense the keg, it will allow the contents to remain fresh and carbonated for an extended period of time, generally a couple of months. Specifically designed kegerators are available for both commercial and residential use, however a common refrigerator can be reconfigured into a kegerator with a kegerator conversion kit. Not all standard refrigerators have enough room for a keg, so kegerators are designed in a manner that will allow one or more kegs to fit inside along with the dispense system. Kegerators are typically used to dispense draft beer, but are also gaining popularity for dispensing wine, cold brew coffee and kombucha with certain modifications.

A koozie (US) or stubby holder (Australian) is a fabric or foam sleeve that is designed to thermally insulate a beverage container, like a can or bottle.

PerfectDraft is a beer tapping system from Dutch Belgian company AB-InBev and company Philips. The device is similar to the installations for tapping beer at parties, however it works with steel, returnable six-litre-kegs. As of 2020, around 40 different beers are available for use with the PerfectDraft Home Draught machine. When left in the machine, the kegs will be stored at the temperature of 3°C and correct pressure. One keg lasts for up to 30 days.

In American English, a pitcher is a container with a spout used for storing and pouring liquids. In English-speaking countries outside North America, a jug is any container with a handle and a mouth and spout for liquid – American "pitchers" will be called jugs elsewhere. Generally a pitcher also has a handle, which makes pouring easier.

A tankard is a form of drinkware consisting of a large, roughly cylindrical, drinking cup with a single handle. Tankards are usually made of silver or pewter, but can be made of other materials, for example wood, ceramic or leather. A tankard may have a hinged lid, and tankards featuring glass bottoms are also fairly common. Tankards are shaped and used similarly to beer steins.

A Toby Jug, also sometimes known as a Fillpot, is a pottery jug in the form of a seated person, or the head of a recognizable person. Typically the seated figure is a heavy-set, jovial man holding a mug of beer in one hand and a pipe of tobacco in the other and wearing 18th-century attire: a long coat and a tricorn hat. The tricorn hat forms a pouring spout, often with a removable lid, and a handle is attached at the rear. Jugs depicting just the head and shoulders of a figure are also referred to as Toby jugs, although these should strictly be called "character jugs" or face jugs, the wider historical term.

A widget is a device placed in a container of beer to manage the characteristics of the beer's head. The original widget was patented in Ireland by Guinness. The "floating widget" is found in cans of beer as a hollow plastic sphere, approximately 30 millimetres (1.2 in) in diameter with at least one small hole and a seam. The "rocket widget" is found in bottles, 70 millimetres (2.8 in) in length with the small hole at the bottom.