Bier is one of those German words that's absolutely identical to English except for a tiny spelling difference, which is handy for anyone going drinking in Germany. Another near-neighbour is hier, which means here – and is pronounced the same, as "IE" in Gemran is always being pronounced "EE". It reminds me just how straightforward German spelling is, which is actually one of the unknown pleasures of the language. English is never quite as obvious as there seems no rhyme or reason why it should be beer and here not bere and heer.

The other thing to remember is that "EI" is pronounced "I" – as in EIN BIER. Or even better, ZWEI BIER. Or DREI. You get the drift.