Beloved above all else in Germany stand two things: beer and football. The Germans should be so lucky that these two passions are compatible. What fan can go to an FC Bayern game without a beer in his hand? As it turns out, football and beer are compatible beyond just stadium concessions. The brew and the sport unite in the cup itself–the pokal that is. The pokal, German for both cup and trophy, represents the joys of camaraderie and victory.
One tale tells of Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, who invaded a German city in 1631. As his army surrounded the city, he sentenced all of the local councilors to death by beheading. In a desperate effort to survive, the councilors filled the 6-quart pokal that was used at banquets with wine and presented it to the invading marshall. Upon sipping the wine, he softened his stance and offered the councilors a deal: if any one man could drink the entire contents of the pokal, he would grant them all clemency. An old mayor stepped up and swallowed the herculean volume, saving the city and himself.
An apocryphal tale perhaps, this story highlights the sense of community and victory that a pokal could contain. These gigantic goblets had a long history in Germany where people have been seeking vessels out of which they can drink their beer for centuries. Since the 1600s, pokals have been in fashion. Generally, these were goblets, made of silver, gold, and sometimes glass, with a lid on top. The cup of the goblet was deep and skinny, widening as it got closer to the rim. Holding more than an individual serving, pokals were commonly used for drinking formal toasts. Once filled, they were passed around banquets as individuals took turns sipping out of the communal beverage. Such a vessel was an heirloom to which every community member had a right.
One American journalist explains just how capacious the pokal was. “It was like a great smooth berry dish without handles, or about the size and shape of a plug hat with the rim cut off, and by actual measurement, was twenty inches in circumference and nine inches high….its appearance, when filled, would strike terror to the souls of a whole State Temperance Society.” (New Orleans Times 10/26/1876).
Gradually, the pokal fell out of fashion as a communal drinking vessel during the 1800s. Rather than becoming an artifact, it emerged as an honor for victorious competitors. Competitions around the Western world awarded their victors a metallic pokal. Such competitions included German games of marksmanship, Russian tests of automobile endurance, and American judgements of singing. In November of 1904, the Commissioner General of the German Reich, Theodore Lewald, presented President Theodore Roosevelt with a metal pokal full of Rhine wine. Keeping the competitive connection alive, Lewald would later head up the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Beyond niche competitions, the pokal has achieved modern fame. Today, it is presented as the trophy in the second most prestigious football competition in Germany, the DFB-Pokal. First awarded in 1935 as the Tschammer-Pokal, this honor in German football has been awarded annually since, with the exception of World War II. The victorious football club often unites the pokal with its original bedmate, showering each other in a jubilant rain of beer while hoisting the golden pokal high.
Today, the pokal has returned to its original purpose. Modern versions of the drinking pokal are commonly used to serve certain styles of beer. Modern pokals are simple pilsner glasses with the addition of a foot. This style of glass is most often touted as suitable for serving bocks, weizenbocks, and pilsners. The shape of the glass catches the effervescence of the beer and creates an attractive head on the top. The simple shape is excellent at accentuating the clarity and color of these brews. If you have a Bitburger glass at home, it is likely a pokal.
The pokal has stood the test of time. Many vessels are frivolous, accentuating the richness and taste of their owners rather than that of the beer or wine they contain. The pokal, however, was imbued with importance by the community. Its massive volume allowed for sharing, and thus communal celebration and toast-making. Even when it was not used for drinking, it was easily reimagined as a vessel of celebration in competitions. The pokal, always representative of German culture, mingles in its cup both communal drinking and competition.
Cover Photo: “Opalescent Glass Lidded Pokal with Serpent Stem” ca. 1870s-90s, Venice and Murano Glass and Mosaic Company Ltd., RISD Museum, Gift of Mrs. Frank Mauran and John O. Ames 14.208. Photographed at the National Portrait Gallery
“A Big Drink and What Came of it,” Washington Bee (Washington (DC), District of Columbia) May 3, 1884
“Im Hof Restaurant,” New Orleans Times (published as The New Orleans Times) (New Orleans, Louisiana) October 26, 1876
Kain, K. (2020, June 4). An Incomplete History of Pilsner Glassware. Casket beer. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.casketbeer.com/home/tag/Pokal
Pokal. Glass Dictionary | Corning Museum of Glass. (n.d.). Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.cmog.org/glass-dictionary/pokal#:~:text=Pokal%20%28German%29%20A%20covered%20goblet%20with%20a%20flared,centuries%2C%20and%20used%20for%20drinking%20toasts.%20Alternate%20Spellings
“Roosevelt Gets a ‘Pokal,’ and in it a Liberal Draught of Rhine Wine” Omaha World-Herald (published as Sunday World-Herald) (Omaha, Nebraska)November 27, 1904
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