"Gold or thin stems – no way". "A beer glass for the young scene needs to be like this", say those in the know: "robust, compact and provide a safe hold." Then it will be accepted.

Brewery brand strategists know that around 80% of the motivation behind buying decisions is emotion, whereby today, the emotions needing to be satisfied by their brands vary greatly according to consumer age group. For one, it is to fulfil their need to belong to a particular lifestyle group by the choice of a particular beer brand, for the other, the wish to express shared values and life philosophy. For the marketing experts the solution then is: "This means our consumers in a traditional pub will have a different glass from the one the night owls have in their clubs."

At Brau Beviale 2004 RASTAL is presenting the latest trends in glass design that make brands popul ar in the young scene’s bars and clubs look good. The development of this target-group-specific Exclusive Glass collection for beer brands was underpinned by a market research analysis. It was commissioned by RASTAL to determine how the design of glasses for the young consumers’ scene could be optimized. The unanimous opinion of the young consumers: standard glass forms are old-fashioned but glass shapes and decoration that are decidedly different from traditional beer glass forms were, on the other hand, graded "cool". According to the poll, the demands of this target group in regard to beer glass design are strongly function-oriented. Not surprising, because in minimalist-style clubs and lounges you will want to chill out , lounge or simply unwind in style. In other words: appear to be as laid-back as possible, for even small mishaps can create embarrassing catastrophes, according to the authors of the study by Rheingold, Cologne.

The study revealed that those polled also had very decided views about what form a beer glass for their scene needs to have: the ideal beer glass has neither thin walls nor does it have a fragile foot (otherwise it could easily fall over) and must be easy to hold with hanging arm and backward-turned hand. Ornate and engraved decoration and gold rims are "out ", but grooved and frosted surfaces are definitely "in".