A beer boot () is a

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

-shaped beer glass. Beer boots exist in sizes ranging from up to , but is a more typical size. Beer boots are commonly consumed communally and are popular with younger people as part of

drinking game Drinking games are games which involve the consumption of alcoholic beverages and often enduring the subsequent intoxication resulting from them. Evidence of the existence of drinking games dates back to antiquity. Drinking games have been banne ...

Production

Because of their shape, beer boots are often made from blown or

pressed glass Pressed glass (or pattern glass)
is a form of glass made by pressing molten glass into a Mol ...

Origin

Shoe- or boot-shaped drinking containers have a long tradition; archaeologists have found examples at

Urnfield culture The Urnfield culture () was a late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremation, cremating the dead and placin ...

sites in Unterhautzenthal near

Korneuburg Korneuburg (; Central Bavarian: ''Korneibuag'') is a town in Austria. It is located in the state Lower Austria and is the administrative center of the district of Korneuburg (district), Korneuburg. Korneuburg is situated on the left bank of the ...

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

or at the

Glauberg The Glauberg is a Celtic hillfort or oppidum in Hesse, Germany consisting of a fortified settlement and several burial mounds, "a princely seat of the late Hallstatt and early La Tène periods." Archaeological discoveries in the 1990s place t ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In Asia Minor, shoe-shaped drinking vessels have been found dating to the early

2nd millennium BCE File:2nd millennium BC montage.jpg, 400x400px, From top left clockwise: Hammurabi, Babylonian king, best known for his code of laws; The gold funerary mask of Tutankhamun has become a symbol of ancient Egyptian civilization and its enduring leg ...

; others, dating to the early

1st millennium BCE File:1st millennium BC.jpg, 400x400px, From top left clockwise: The Parthenon, a former temple in Athens, Greece; Aristotle, Greek philosopher; Gautama Buddha, a spiritual teacher and the founder of Buddhism; Wars of Alexander the Great last from ...

have been found in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, and

Urartu Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom centered around the Armenian highlands between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan. The territory of the ancient kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia.Kleiss, Wo ...

sites near

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

. Similar glasses are attested into the middle ages. The modern beer boot takes its form from the

Hessian boot The Hessian boot (; from Hesse in Germany) is a style of light riding boot that became popular from the beginning of the 19th century. History and description First worn by German soldiers in the 18th century, these military riding boots became ...

, which saw military use into the 19th century.

Drinking from shoes Drinking from a shoe has historically been performed as both a Superstition, bringer of good fortune, a hazing punishment, or a party piece. Drinking champagne from a lady's slipper became a symbol of decadence in the early 20th century. The ...

was a common hazing ritual in the military, and which spread further through German student fraternities.

Use

Due to the size and volume, a beer boot is usually consumed communally. When drinking, if the toe of the boot is facing away from the drinker, a portion of the beer is held at low pressure in the toe. When the air reaches the toe, the beer can rush out into the face of the drinker. The use of beer boots featured prominently in the 2006 film ''

Beerfest ''Beerfest'' is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar and written by the comedy group Broken Lizard (Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan (actor), Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske), who also star in th ...

''.

References

{{reflist Beer glassware Drinking culture Student culture