German Beer Steins

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For those of you out there who are fans of drinking beer from a classic beer mug I wonder if you've ever encountered a German beer stein? Yes I know what you're thinking, what's the difference as long as it contains beer right? Well to be honest there are quite a few differences between beer mugs and German beer steins. Firstly they look completely different so you won't get them confused easily. German beer steins tend to have a lid giving them more of a jug look compared to a beer mug which doesn't have a lid. In fact the word stein means jug in German and this is simply where the name comes from. The other major difference is the handle which tends to be over sized which allows the container to hold much more liquid. The handles tend to be quite distinct in design and extremely attractive to look at.

The aesthetic qualities of German beer steins are the things which first drew me to collecting them. The workmanship involved in producing these works of beauty is absolutely astounding. Sure, you get your factory produced steins much the same way as you get the factory produced beer mugs. However, there are a lot out there which are designed by hand and often have the graphics etched on the side of the stein. These hand made steins are the ones which cost the most money. So if you're a collector out there this is what you're looking for. Much the same as other collectible items out there the rarer the beer stein the better. You're not looking for those mass produced factory offerings but the one-offs and hand made items. The design of the beer steins can vary widely from family coats of arms to pictures of animals or other scenic displays. Some of them are absolutely beautiful.

If you're interested in collecting beer steins then there are numerous sites about them online. Many of them will provide you with information about whether your German beer steins are worth a small fortune or if it's only useful for keeping your spare change in!

Why are they called 'German' beer steins? Quite simple really, that's where they come from! In fact Oktoberfest which is held in Munich once a year is the best place on earth to see a wide variety of beer steins as it's the biggest beer festival in the world. Why not pay it a visit. Great steins, lots of beer and warm friendly atmosphere from the German people!