At the beginning of the seventeenth century there were two types of drinking glass, for beer and for wine. Then the water was rarely drinkable. Hot drinks like tea and coffee were not even available to the rich until after 1660. Glass was not used for hot drinks. Ale was the major hot drink and differed from beer in that the latter was made using hops. Later, in the eighteenth century, the usage of the terms changed and ale becomes a term for a strong drink also made with hops.
Around 1600 owning drinking glass, particularly the fine variety from Venice, was strictly for the very rich. It was a sign that you had made it that you could afford to import these beautiful expensive glasses and then trash half of them in a single night's drinking. One quote from the period states that the use of gold and silver drinking vessels was very much for the lesser orders, but that glass was the material of choice.