Contemplatebeer
Active Member
I broke the only English Pint (imperial pint) glass I've ever owned late last month, and have been on the lookout for a replacement. What I've found is that no beer retailer in my area (Louisville, KY) actually keeps these in stock anymore.
What troubles me most in this whole matter is what's being stocked instead: glasses that look like something to be used at a bachelorette party and discarded; new school spiegelau glasses ideal for your favorite hazy IPA of the week, and glasses that appeal to the pop culture moment.
I called Total Wine in Louisville yesterday, hoping that a larger specialty retailer might be my next best hope. When asking about an English Pint glass over the phone, the lady on the other end stuttered for a moment, as if I was mentioning something totally foreign to her ears. The next person I spoke to was a manager, who claimed they only had "Sam Adams & Game of Thrones" glassware, and no English Pints "for some time."
Having been in the craft beer hobby for over a decade, I remember a time when we reverenced the beers of the past, and retailers stocked classics alongside the new school offerings of the moment. Now, it seems that most any beer that isn't hoppy, sour, barrel-aged or craft cocktail (the only four styles, you know) is getting harder to find. In that light, it makes sense that I cannot find an English Pint without consulting Jeff Bezos.
Maybe I'm just an old fart that needs to get with the times. But are the "times" getting to anyone else? Or am I just wishing for a moment that's in the rearview?
What troubles me most in this whole matter is what's being stocked instead: glasses that look like something to be used at a bachelorette party and discarded; new school spiegelau glasses ideal for your favorite hazy IPA of the week, and glasses that appeal to the pop culture moment.
I called Total Wine in Louisville yesterday, hoping that a larger specialty retailer might be my next best hope. When asking about an English Pint glass over the phone, the lady on the other end stuttered for a moment, as if I was mentioning something totally foreign to her ears. The next person I spoke to was a manager, who claimed they only had "Sam Adams & Game of Thrones" glassware, and no English Pints "for some time."
Having been in the craft beer hobby for over a decade, I remember a time when we reverenced the beers of the past, and retailers stocked classics alongside the new school offerings of the moment. Now, it seems that most any beer that isn't hoppy, sour, barrel-aged or craft cocktail (the only four styles, you know) is getting harder to find. In that light, it makes sense that I cannot find an English Pint without consulting Jeff Bezos.
Maybe I'm just an old fart that needs to get with the times. But are the "times" getting to anyone else? Or am I just wishing for a moment that's in the rearview?
