Beer!

[craze1]

It's spring! Tiger's are playing ball! Let's talk beer!

Moved to Florida from Detroit in 1983. But before that in 1977 I stopped at a popular pub on Captiva?Sanibel Island called the Mucky Duck. Strolled in an asked for a shell of beer. The female bartender about 40 years old gave a puzzled look.
Now Captiva/Sanibel are world reknowned for their famous "shelling" beaches.
So she said "let me get this right. You want me to pour you a beer into shell and serve it to you". I laughed an said no. A shell of beer was a small glass of beer at least in Northeast Detroit and Ham Town! A large glass was a Bumba.
As she handed me my glass she said she had worked many bars in many cities...including New York, Las Vegas, in Europe etc but had never heard a glass of beer reffered to as a shell!
Just wondering if other forum members have a beer story unique to the Detoit area.
Best to all from beautiful SW Fla...spring weather is on the way!
Bob

[Django]

Why would anyone want a small glass of beer?

Ive never heard of either bumba or shell. SWD is a whole different world it seems sometimes.

[LodgeDodger]

Pop used to refer to the different sizes of beers as Bumbas and Shells. He was a regular at Henry's Bar on Gratiot. He also used to go to the Seven VO Bar on Seven Mile Road.

[craze1]

Think Henrys was on Gratiot between Houston- Whittier and Gunston. Seven VO ...east of Osborn HS? Those were "old men" bars in the late 60's and early 70's. Heck I turned 21 in 1970 so what do I know!
Another old guy bar was Dex Walters on Morang and Landsdown. Use to live on Whitehill corner of Britian.. Als car wash was on the corner of Morang and Whitehill.

[LodgeDodger]

Think Henrys was on Gratiot between Houston- Whittier and Gunston. Seven VO ...east of Osborn HS? Those were "old men" bars in the late 60's and early 70's. Heck I turned 21 in 1970 so what do I know!
Another old guy bar was Dex Walters on Morang and Landsdown. Use to live on Whitehill corner of Britian.. Als car wash was on the corner of Morang and Whitehill.

I'm not sure about the exact location of Henry's--I just knew it was on Gratiot. I don't think it was too far from the Seven Mile shopping area.

Seven V O was just east of Schoenherr.

[Maof]

i remember the term "shell" but i thought it refered to a "pilsner"

[szla]

I always thought bumba was Polish slang for fat lady like the shape and size of the glass.

[craze1]

HA!
The Bumba glass I remember was shaped like a fishbowl! Probably held 20-24 oz of beer.
Shells were more along the line of a 12 oz glass.

[cloud_wall]

I think Como's in Ferndale still uses those terms.

Did folks in Delray used to order korsos and pohars [[maybe a picalo at lunch on a work day)? Hungary was the first place I heard of naming beer sizes something other than the unit of measure.

[65memories]

in the 60's down at Wayne State, we used to go to the Alcove on Woodward between classes to get 25 cent shells...the bartender would have them ready for us. Shells are just small glasses of beer.

[catrak]

Shell reffered to the glass - prior if you wanted a beer you got a bucket - literally - bottles and glasses cost money - many people kept their own glasses at the local bar - still saw this in the 70's at many old bars in detroit and hamtramak

[Wingnatic]

mmmmmmm yummy ........... beer ! I have an old friend named Bob , we've shared a few beers over the years , I call him my Boomba brother Bob lol Thats how its spelled and I do remember ordering shells of beer at numerous bars . Here's a place in Livonia that refers to both .

New Daily Specials
Monday: $1.50 Domestic Pints
Tuesday: $2.50 Well Drinks
Wednesday: Any Burger, Fries, and a Boomba for $6.00
Thursday: $2.00 Domestic Beer
Friday: 2 Free Shells When You Purchase a Pitcher of Beer
Saturday: $15.00 Beer Bucket
Sunday: $6.00 Pitchers of Beer [[Domestic)

http://www.georgemurphys.com/

[DetroitPlanner]

Back in my underage drinking at the bar days there was a place called the Boomba Lounge that would serve us boombas on Warren and Mansfield. On the other side of the Park was the Park-Joy. You could get a shell and a burger there for $2 in the mid-1980's and is where we would go for lunch in high school.

[milesdriven]

I've heard of, and enjoyed, many bumbas but never heard of a shell. I'm in my late 20s, must've been before my time.

[Ronjm23]

I grew up many many years ago on the west side of Detroit. I recall my mom & dad going to a bar near St. Hedwigs called Mike's. My dad would order a large glass of beer and it was refered to as a schuper, my mom would order the smaller stein. Does anyone else remember these terms being used for beer glasses?

[gencinjay]

I also haven't heard of shells, but Boombas used to be the common term for the large mugs. I've also seen them called this in Chicago.

[Jman]

I've drank schupers, steins, mugs, boombas, shells, ponies, washes, backs and others that I've forgotten, but i'm probably older than 95% of the posters here.

[preserve]

I remember when an order would be a shot and a wash - a really small glass of beer
to follow the shot. Maybe Detroit is unique in their beer ordering, but, maybe that's just old terminology.

[Lowell]

Shell and boomba aka bumba are still used at the original Buddy's on Conant. Like 65memories I learned those terms used for draft beer sizes during the late sixties when I would come to Detroit to work summers on the assembly lines and live by Wsu. The term was common at the Alcove, Vern's and everywhere in Hamtramck.

I alway assumed it was a Detroit thing and have never heard it elsewhere. I never discerned a specific size for them just small and big, like 12 oz and 16 oz.

[Wingnatic]

I haven't been up that way in about a dozen years from when I used to live in the Conant/Outer Dr. area . I'm wondering if Buddy's still has the Bocci court on the side of the building ? I used to work at O.L. Johnsons nearby and would walk to Buddy's for lunch on payday a dozen years ago , lots of cops there for lunch as well . I hung out at a bar across the street from Buddy's in the late 60's early 70's [[ Club Polski) and the Bocchi court was being used , but stopped going to that bar when it changed from rock n roll [[live on weekends) to Disco

[Lowell]

I'm wondering if Buddy's still has the Bocci court on the side of the building ?

Still there. Very little has changed inside or out. Still the best pizza anywhere, still a lot of cops eat there. Still very busy.

Here is a grainy picture of a Buddy's bumba. It is served in a thick-glass frosted stemmed glass.

[beanietek]

craze1

lol'd when i read your post - too funny
dad used to drink at polka inn in mcgraw/central - shells and bumba's were the norm.
still have an original bumba glass from the bar - weighs a ton without anything in it - glass about an inch thick

[LodgeDodger]

What do they call the drink when a shot glass of whiskey [[I think it's whiskey) is dropped into a boomba glass full of beer?

[pgn421]

Lodge- a boilermaker!