I had a favourite tankard which did not, sadly, follow me to the Antipodes but may still follow the morris. It was brass bound oak and you had to soak it overnight before you could use it. The ale tasted good from it. I got rid of most of my collection of tankards but they have gradually been replaced. Of morris significance is a prize at the Bampton Fair from long ago, which I picked up in a remote farm in South Australia. I used to have 4 quart tannkards, useful near closing time as it in theory halved the number of scrums at the bar. Just the satisfying clunk of them on the bar and the call off a gallon of bitter please. And yes they were part of morris kit so you could still enjoy a beer between pubs. Hey, Kitty, is Hairy's gallon tankard ever seen these days?
IMHO the best ales from the US rank with the best anywhere, the worst compete for new lows, ditto Australia where a sea of mediocrity is saved by the output of dozens of great micros