Beer in Spain  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                  

   

 

 

Pronouncing it!

The first thing to learn is how to pronounce the word for beer - and, believe it or not, there are two ways of doing this. The word is spelled 'cerveza' and, if you are holidaying in the south, then your would pronounce this sairr-VAY-za. The capitalised words in the middle of the indicate where the stress or emphasis lies in the word. In the north, things get a little odd with the lisping accent used there and the word comes out as Thairr-BAY-tha. Please note that you are much more likely to understood if you roll the 'r' in the word.

If you don't fancy wrapping your tongue around these complex syllables, and only ever drink small amounts of beer, then you are in luck because you can order a 'caña' instead (pronounced KAN-ya). The 'a' sounds are the same as those in 'canal' …stay away from 'a' sounds like southern English people use to say 'bath, castle and plaster.' (like there is an invisible 'r' in the word).

  Banana Skin!

So, you've mastered the words and, feeling confident, you stroll into a bar and order half a litre of beer or (worse still) a pint. The barman stares back at you like you're from Mars. You can't understand what you did wrong because you really practised this one. The fact is that you have just trodden on the first of many (purely cultural) banana skins. If it's any consolation a, Spanish person would make the same mistake in Britain!

 

  Size IS Important!

The odd thing is that beer isn't sold by quantity in Spain and so ordering amount of it doesn't make any sense. Beer is sold solely on the type of glass that it is served in. A caña is quite often a large wine glass of beer and many rural bars don't have large glasses …but let's take a tour around the extra minefield of bar glasses. Although the word for a 'pint' does translate into Spanish as 'pinta' (pronounced PEEN-ta), this same word is in more common use as meaning 'speckled' or 'spotted' and may come across as you wanting 'spotted beer.'

 

  Bigger??

Your host may offer a smaller glass from the shelves behind the bar when larger ones are clearly available …reinforcing your wish for something that holds more beer may be required. Outside of communities that have a lot of British people, the act of consuming appreciable amounts of beer is largely unknown and thus you are fighting a two-pronged battle with a language and a culture.
Your glasses!

Copa (pronounce the 'o' as in 'orange') …a wine glass

Tubo (pronounced TOO-bo) …a long slender tubular glass (holds about a third of a litre)

Tanque (pronounced TAN-kay) …not available in every bar and the size and type can vary. The smallest of these holds about half a pint. Obtaining a pint-size 'tanque' may require the addition of the word 'grande' (pronounced 'GRRAN-day).A Mug's Game!

English, pint-size 'dimple' mugs may be found in some bars and these can go by at least two names and one of them is readily confused with the name for a jug. Sometimes the dimple mug goes under the term "tanque grande" and other times it is referred to as a 'jarra' (looks easy doesn't it? But, not only do you have to roll those 'rs' but you have to pronounce that initial 'j' like the guttural sound on the end of the Scottish word 'loch.' For practise I would suggest inventing a fictitious place in Scotland called Loch Arrah …running the two words together a few times and then just dropping the 'lo' at the beginning. Here, language and culture become a tangled mess because of the assumption I told you about earlier concerning ordering large amounts of beer.

Mugs & Jugs

The term 'jarra' may be used to describe both a large glass for one person and a jug that Spanish people consider the right size to sit in the middle of a bar table with at least two people sat at it.

Here's where the complexity gets a lot of fun. If you order a 'jug' for yourself then you may just get a large glass …but if you're thirsty or just want to order the drinks once during your meal then ordering a jug of beer for two gets around this: "Una jarra de cerveza para dos" (oona kharra day thair-BAY-tha parra dos) …but remember your 'o' and 'a' sounds (no straying into English pronunciation).

Half measures

This exhaustive master class of beer ordering is nowhere near over - and there is at least one refinement to be added in the case of the many bars that have just wine glasses and a couple of jugs behind the bar. You may not want an entire litre of beer but not want to keep shuttling back and forth between the bar and your table with a succession of wine glasses of beer …so order HALF a jug "media jarra" (MAYD-ya kharra).

Froth!

You're not used to getting short measures are you? You might get a little peeved when the beaming barkeep serves you with a pint glass or jug of beer that is at least one third head. Put aside your anger and consider again the fact that there is no such thing as a standard measure of beer in Spain and then add the fact that the Spanish people actually believe that beer is somehow better with all that froth - you'll discover how wrong you were about the Spanish barman trying to swindle you out of some beer when you ask for it with a small head (poco espuma "PO-ko ay-SPOOM-a) …he might purse his lips because he considers this a little unusual and even have to wrestle a little with this unfamiliar task, but he will still give you what you want without complaint. With few exceptions all you need to know to get what you really want is how to ask.