Catalogue no. BBG059
Glasses
Exhibit information
Glass style Goblet A stemmed glass with a broad bowl, traditionally associated with stronger Belgian beers, particularly Trappist and abbey ales.
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Explainers
Capacity 33cl
Manufactured 2022 Curator’s Notes I acquired this wonderfully extravagant Hopus glass with relatively little idea what to make of it. A goblet seems the least implausible description, although its elongated bowl borrows something from both the tulip and the flute. The elaborate geometric stem does nothing to calm matters down.
The branding is rather more purposeful. The large H is surrounded by hop foliage, appropriate for a beer brewed using five varieties of hops. Even the name is part of the story: Hopus combines “hop” with the Latin “opus”, or work. The beer itself began as a secret cuvée brewed for the wedding of Paul Lefebvre of the Brewery bearing his name and responsible now for its development into a commercial beer.
The unusual proportions also make more sense when the serving ritual is understood. Hopus is traditionally served using two glasses: the clear beer is poured into this tall 33cl glass, while the yeast sediment is served separately in a small glass, leaving the drinker to decide whether to add it. Manufactured in 2022, this is therefore an unusually theatrical glass for an unusually theatrical way of serving a beer.
