(pronounced pronounced as /de/) or (Swiss spelling, elsewhere used for dialectal pronounced as /de/) is the German word describing the amount of beer in a regulation mug, in modern times exactly 11NaN1. German: Maß is also a common abbreviation for , the handled drinking vessel containing it, ubiquitous in Bavarian beer gardens and beer halls, and a staple of Oktoberfest. This vessel is often referred to as a beer mug by English speakers, and can be correctly called a beer stein only if it is made of stoneware and capable of holding a regulation German: Maß of beer.
The word "German: Maß" can be of either neuter or female grammatical gender. In its neuter form, German: das Maß, it is the German word for "measure". Its feminine version, "German: die Maß", is used in southern Germany and Austria to refer to a one-liter glass beer mug or its contents.[1] It is spelled "German: Maß" or "German: Mass" (both spellings are permissible) in Germany and Austria, and "German: Mass" in Switzerland.[2] The plural is also .
A stoneware mug is a form of beer stein, another type of vessel which may only be referred to as a German: Maßkrug if capable of holding a regulation quantity of beer.
In the Southern German areas (Austro-Bavarian), the German: Maß originally measured 1.069lk=onNaNlk=on.[3] Other German-speaking areas had different measures; in Switzerland between 1838 and 1877, and in Baden until 1871, the German: Maß was 1.5 liters.
The modern German: Maßkrug is slightly larger than 1 liter, with a fill line denoting the level to which the beer must be filled; the area above the line denotes space for the head to expand. Selling beer in mugs with a fraudulent or missing calibration mark is also prosecuted as fraud. An "Association Against Fraudulent Pouring [of Beer]" ("Verein gegen betrügerisches Einschenken") in Munich fights for the customer rights of beer drinkers, and is mostly active on Oktoberfest.[4]
In the more northerly parts of Germany, the German: Maß has mostly fallen out of use, except for Bavarian-themed events, since beer for immediate consumption there is usually sold in smaller amounts, from 0.2-,
Mugs are frequently decorated with a print of the logo of the brewery.
Some beer gardens and restaurants rent space out to patrons to store their mugs, which often have personalized engravings on their lids. For a small monthly fee, the establishment will also wash one's mug.
According to physicist Erich Schuller of the Institute for Forensic Medicine at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, a German: Maßkrug is an "effective percussion tool" in which each strike is potentially life-threatening. An empty German: Maß weighs 1.3kg (02.9lb) and can produce a force of in a violent blow, far surpassing the required to break a human's skullcap. Some cases have occurred, though, in which the German: Maßkrug yielded. Presumably, these mugs had reduced strength due to wear.[5]
The endurance sport of Maßkrugstemmen involves holding a filled 2.4kg (05.3lb) German: Maß at arm's length.[6] The world record is 45minutes and 2seconds.[7] While the sport is believed to have originated in Bavaria, Germany, competitions are now seen worldwide. A governing body has been created in the United States as the U.S. Steinholding Association.[8]