Onis Sintra

The size follows from what you pour. The 29 cl is the everyday tankard: an ordinary glass of lager with a head on it, small enough to drink while cold and to lift without effort. The 55 cl is the size for half a litre with room for foam above it, the format you know from German beer halls and one that also suits heavier beers you drink slowly. If you want a thinner glass without a handle, in which the beer warms up faster but which drinks lighter, look at the beer glasses. For other models with a handle there are the beer tankards.

Hold the tankard at an angle and pour along the wall until it is half full, then stand it upright and pour the last part into the middle. That gives you a head of about two fingers without having to wait. In the 55 cl that means half a litre of beer plus foam. Take the tankard by the handle and not by the body, because hand warmth passes straight through thick glass. If you want a jenever alongside, the recipe for the kopstoot explains how to serve the two together.

Thick-walled glass stands up to knocks but is sensitive to temperature differences, because the outside expands faster than the inside. So don't put a tankard straight from the dishwasher into the freezer. The series takes any standard dishwasher programme and dries a little more slowly because of the heavy base. With hard water, rinse afterwards, otherwise limescale settles and makes the head collapse the moment you pour.

The other series from this maker are at Onis. If you are looking for a smaller glass for a shot alongside the beer, the sizes stand side by side among the spirit glasses. For tall mixed drinks with ice, the long drink glasses are a more logical choice than a tankard. And anyone wanting to pour a round will find recipes that work well beside a cold beer on the shots page.