How do you order a beer in Spain? Caña, zurito, corto or penalti, depending on the region.

Ordering a beer in Spain seems easy until you start traveling. A caña in Madrid, a zurito in the Basque Country, a corto in León, or a penalti in Zaragoza may refer to similar amounts, but each region has developed its own vocabulary.

And it doesn't end there: the "tercio" can become a mediana in Catalonia or a media in Asturias and Cantabria, while even seemingly universal words like "caña" change in size depending on where you are.

So, how do you actually order a beer in Spain? Let's take a little trip through its bar counters.

The quick map of beer in Spain

Region	What you might hear	What it usually means
Madrid	Caña, doble, botellín, tercio	From about 200 ml to approx. 330-400 ml
Basque Country	Zurito, caña, cañón	Small, medium, and large draft beer
Navarre	Zurito, cañón	Small and larger draft formats
Castile and León	Corto	Approx. 100-140 ml
Aragon	Penalti	Small draft beer
Catalonia	Mediana	Bottle of about 33 cl
Asturias and Cantabria	Media	Format equivalent to the tercio
Galicia	Corto	Can be equivalent to a conventional caña
Andalusia	Caña, cervecita, cortaíta, cañón, maceta	Different formats depending on area and establishment

The amounts are always approximate. There is no single legal measurement associated with each word, and the size can change depending on the city, the bar, and the glass used.

Madrid: caña, doble, botellín, and tercio

Madrid probably uses some of the best-known terms in the rest of Spain.

If you order a caña, you will usually receive a relatively small draft beer, typically around 200 ml.

If you want something larger, you can order a doble, which usually hovers around 350-400 ml, although again, it will depend on the establishment.

For bottled beer, two classics appear:

• Botellín or quinto: approximately 20 cl.
• Tercio: approximately 33 cl.

So, at a bar counter in Madrid, it is perfectly normal to hear:

"Ponme una caña" (Give me a caña) or "ponme un doble" (Give me a doble).

Basque Country: what exactly is a zurito?

In the Basque Country, one of the best-known beer words is zurito.

This is a small draft beer, usually around 100-150 ml. Its size fits particularly well with the custom of going out for pintxos and visiting several establishments.

In other words, instead of drinking a full caña at every stop, you can order a zurito.

If you want a larger quantity, you can also find the term cañón, used for a larger format that is around 300 ml or a bit more, depending on the bar.

And there is an important curiosity: a Basque "caña" can be considerably larger than a Madrid "caña."

So, ordering exactly the same thing in Bilbao and Madrid does not guarantee receiving the same glass.

Navarre: zuritos and cañones

Part of that vocabulary also extends to Navarre.

There, you can find terms like zurito for a small amount and cañón for a larger format.

It is a good example of how beer vocabulary does not strictly follow regional borders: habits move from one region to another and even change between neighboring cities.

Castile and León: going for "cortos"

In Castile and León, another of the most characteristic expressions appears: the corto.

In cities like León, Valladolid, or Salamanca, it is used for a draft beer smaller than a conventional caña, usually around 100-140 ml.

In León, furthermore, talking about "going for cortos" is closely linked to the culture of bars and tapas.

The size makes sense: if you are going to visit several establishments, a small beer allows for more stops.

The term can also be found in parts of La Rioja and Asturias.

Aragon: why is a small beer called a penalti?

If you are in Aragon, and especially in Zaragoza, you might encounter a much more football-oriented expression:

"Ponme un penalti" (Give me a penalty kick).

They are not asking the waiter to bring out a ball.

A penalti is a small draft beer, similar in concept to the Basque zurito or the Castilian-Leonese corto.

It is one of the most curious examples of how the same approximate amount of beer completely changes its name after traveling a few hundred kilometers.

Catalonia: if you want a tercio, ask for a mediana

In much of Spain, a bottle of approximately 33 cl is ordered as a tercio.

In Catalonia, however, it is very common to hear:

"Una mediana."

The mediana usually corresponds to that 330 ml bottle that in Madrid, Andalusia, or many other areas we would call a tercio.

It should not be confused with the caña, which continues to refer normally to beer served on draft.

Asturias and Cantabria: a "media" can be a tercio

If we continue along the Cantabrian coast, we find another variation.

In Asturias and Cantabria, the word media can be used to refer to a format similar to the 33 cl bottle that much of Spain calls a tercio.

Therefore:

Tercio → mediana in Catalonia → media in parts of the Cantabrian coast.

The beer can be practically the same. What changes is the language of the bar counter.

Galicia: be careful with the meaning of "corto"

Galicia introduces a particularly interesting confusion.

In Castile and León, ordering a corto usually means ordering a very small beer.

In Galicia, however, the term can be used for a size equivalent to approximately a conventional caña.

In other words, it is not enough to learn that:

corto = small beer.

Because the same word can represent different quantities depending on the region.

There is probably no better example of why it is impossible to create a completely rigid Spanish beer dictionary.

Andalusia: caña, cervecita, cortaíta... and maceta

In Andalusia, the "caña" is still perfectly understandable, but a lot of colloquial vocabulary also appears.

Depending on the province and the establishment, you might hear expressions like cervecita or cortaíta for relatively small formats.

Cañón is also used in some establishments for larger glasses.

And if we increase the size considerably, one of the most characteristic words of the south appears: maceta, used in some places for a large beer, close to half a liter.

Given the climate in much of Andalusia, the popularity of small formats is also perfectly understandable: a smaller amount allows you to finish the beer before it loses its coldness.

Quinto, botellín, and tercio: the easiest names to understand in almost all of Spain

If you want to avoid regional complications, bottles are somewhat simpler.

A small bottle of approximately 20 cl is usually called:

• Quinto
• Botellín

"Quinto" has a very simple mathematical explanation: 200 ml is approximately one-fifth (quinto) of a liter.

The bottle of approximately 33 cl is normally the:

Tercio.

Although, as we have already seen, in Catalonia it can become a mediana and in Asturias or Cantabria a media.

So, what should you order in each place?

If you travel through Spain, you don't need to memorize this entire dictionary.

"Una caña" is understood practically everywhere, although the size that arrives at the table may vary.

But learning the local term has its charm:

• In Madrid: a caña or a doble.
• In the Basque Country: a zurito.
• In Castile and León: a corto.
• In Zaragoza: a penalti.
• In Catalonia: a mediana if you want the 33 cl bottle.
• In Asturias or Cantabria: you might encounter a media.

Because in the end, how you order a beer also says something about the place you are in.

One beer, many languages

Zurito, corto, penalti, caña, doble, quinto, botellín, tercio, mediana, media, cañón...

There is no single Spanish way to order a beer. There is a small local vocabulary built around bars, tapas, and the customs of each region.

And perhaps that is part of its charm: you can travel through Spain ordering practically the same drink and learn a different word at every stop.

If you are also one of those who take their love for beer beyond the bar counter, you can discover our beer t-shirt collection, with designs and humor for those who know that a "caña" never means exactly the same thing everywhere.