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Beer stein
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Drinkware |
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Cocktail (martini) glass |
A beer stein is a traditionally German beer tankard or mug, made of pewter, silver, wood, porcelain, earthenware or glassware, and usually with a hinged lid and levered thumblift. In Germany it is usually called a Steinkrug if it is stoneware or Glaskrug if it is made of glass. What any 1-litre mug is referred to depends on the region you are in: In Bavaria for example, it is called a "Maß" while being called "Stein" in Palatinate. Calling it just a "Stein" is a habit of English speakers and Palatinates.
Contents |
The lid keeps beer from spilling; it is extremely helpful during song and celebration where it is common for Europeans (especially Germans) to swing their arms with beer in hand. The lid started out as a sanitary measure. During the summers of the late 1400s, central Europe was repeatedly overwhelmed with swarms of flies.[citation needed] This soon led several principalities in what is now Germany to pass laws requiring food and beverage containers to be covered.[citation needed] By adding a hinged lid with a thumb lift on the lid within reach of the mug handle, it was possible to keep a beverage covered and yet open it with the same hand by which it was held.
The word "stein" is a truncated form of Steinzeugkrug, which is German for stoneware jug or tankard. Stein in German means "rock" or "stone", and is not used to describe the same object in most German regions. The German word is Maßkrug, a Maß (German for "measure") being the amount of fluid that it contains (1.069 litres).
- A Brief History of Beer Steins, an article from a collector's website, taken from The Beer Stein Book: a 400 Year History (ISBN 1-889591-00-9)