Getting a beer

[Culebronchris]

I live in Alicante province. Ask for a caña and you get a decent sized beer. Usually I ask for un tercio (a 330ml bottle) so I don't get surprised by the quantity (sometimes cañas can be quite large) as I'm usually driving. Un quinto gets me one of the 200ml size bottles.

I was in Salamanca province the other week and I asked for a tercio, not only did they not know what it was (in several bars) but after a bit of explanation it always seemed to lead to a Heineken rather than Mahou or Amstel etc.

I was told that cañas were small and the tercio size for "de barril" was un tubo. But tubo didn't always work either and to be sure I had to ask for un tubo de cerveza.

It seems to me that lots of words don't travel well in Spain. I've asked several people here about Marina and Ben's sinpa but it doesn't seem to be a word they use.

[Dave_K]

I can never get this right. (Except that a caña is a small draft -- at least in Madrid). Is a doble the same as a tubo? Why is it called a tubo? What is a large (pint) draft called?

[Ben]

In Madrid the most common terms are caña for a small glass, tubo for a tall narrow glass (the same one gin-tonics etc are served in), and dobles, which are fatter glasses on a stalk usually, if you see what I mean (like fat, squat wine glasses), and tend to hold the same amount as a tubo. Pints don't really exist outside of Irish pubs, and a mini is a litre of beer. A terceo is a 330ml bottle, and a 200 ml bottle is a botellin.

But yes, these terms don't travel very well, and apart from caña, can lead to confusion elsewhere...

[Dave_K]

Originally Posted by Ben

In Madrid the most common terms are caña for a small glass, tubo for a tall narrow glass (the same one gin-tonics etc are served in), and dobles, which are fatter glasses on a stalk usually, if you see what I mean (like fat, squat wine glasses), and tend to hold the same amount as a tubo. Pints don't really exist outside of Irish pubs, and a mini is a litre of beer. A terceo is a 330ml bottle, and a 200 ml bottle is a botellin.

But yes, these terms don't travel very well, and apart from caña, can lead to confusion elsewhere...

Thanks for the explanation. Why is the biggest one called a mini? Why is a doble no more than a terceo? Very confusing!

[Ben]

No, the doble is the same size as the tubo! Well, the glasses hold the same amount more of less... I'm off out later so perhaps I can do a quick photo documentary of some of the options!

[gary]

I have come across the word 'jarra' which gets you the same amount as two cañas in the same glass, which is about 500ml and has a handle, more or less the equivalent of a pint or jar of beer.

The word 'grande' is to be avoided at all costs when in tourist areas as when you expected a jarra, you will invariably get a 2.5 litre stein and have to pay about a tenner for it - NB the semi posh bars on las Ramblas in Barcelona will try this every time!!

[Steve W]

Here, caña is a glass of indeterminate size. Mediana is a 33cl bottle. The 20cl bottles, I call quintos but I think that's a hangover from my time in Valencia.

For draught I have heard de barril and de presión.

[tad]

Originally Posted by gary

...The word 'grande' is to be avoided at all costs when in tourist areas as when you expected a jarra, you will invariably get a 2.5 litre stein..

From what I've gathered aren't 'grandes' your usual Thurs night tipple?

[gary]

Originally Posted by tad

From what I've gathered aren't 'grandes' your usual Thurs night tipple?

drink the world dry one pint at a time (now that Europe has agreed that we can have pints)

[eldeano]

I knew this would be a thread close to Gary's heart.

[eldeano]

Originally Posted by eldeano

I knew this would be a thread close to Gary's heart.

or liver.

[gary]

Originally Posted by eldeano

I knew this would be a thread close to Gary's heart (or liver?)

Above post since removed...

Originally Posted by eldeano

I knew this would be a thread close to Gary's heart.

or liver.

i take it Sunday is your day on the sauce...

[gary]

Originally Posted by Steve W

Here, caña is a glass of indeterminate size. Mediana is a 33cl bottle. The 20cl bottles, I call quintos but I think that's a hangover from my time in Valencia.

For draught I have heard de barril and de presión.

I have heard of and seen quintos. In a bar with an unprintable name near the bottom of C. Roser on football nights the bar pays the pay per view and charges €0.50 extra on each drink while the game is on. The old blokes come in, buy a quinto and make it last til the final whistle.

Mediana works everywhere in Barcelona and its environs but not in some other parts I have been to.

[eldeano]

Originally Posted by gary

i take it Sunday is your day on the sauce...

Sunday, unfortunately, is a work day. Today, under blue Mancunian skies.

[gary]

Originally Posted by eldeano

Sunday, unfortunately, is a work day. Today, under blue Mancunian skies.

dont let "The Man" catch you surfing at work!

[eldeano]

Originally Posted by gary

dont let "The Man" catch you surfing at work!

It's OK. I am The Man.

[eldeano]

Originally Posted by eldeano

It's OK. I am The Man.

er... Cat.

[gary]

Originally Posted by eldeano

It's OK. I am The Man.

Shaft.... can you dig it....

[RojiBlanco34]

in sevilla it's just "cerveza", "pinta", "jarra"

[ValenciaSon]

Originally Posted by gary

Shaft.... can you dig it....

He's a complicated man