The beer stein gets its name from the German word Steinzeugkrug, which means tankard or stoneware jug. This has become abbreviated for normal use and means any container for beer, whatever material it is made from, which has a handle and a hinged lid. http://www.beerstein.net/articles/bsb-1.htm

The beer stein was originally developed in around 1380, as a result of The Black Death which killed about 25 million Europeans. There were hoards of small flies around at this time and the idea of a hinged lid on drinking mugs was introduced as a health measure to help stop these insects spreading disease. By the 1500’s several areas in what is now known as Germany had passed laws making it compulsory to cover all food and drink containers to protect people from contamination.http://www.steincenter.com/history.shtm

The thumb lift on the beer stein was invented to make it easier to use with one hand.

As the idea became increasingly popular, many different styles and shapes were introduced for the beer steins which were made from different materials such as a porcelain substitute — faience, earthenware and stoneware.

By the 1700s and onwards there were many more materials used for the manufacture of the beer stein. These included wood, glass, pewter, porcelain, and silver. http://www.steincenter.com/history.shtm

The golden era of the beer stein was 1850 - 1910. By this time they had developed into an art form, produced by classically trained artists at factories such as The Mettlach, Reinhold Hanke, and Dümler.http://www.steincenter.com/history.shtm

Ceramarte of Brazil became the largest producer of beer steins in the world when he started to manufacture them in the 1970s.http://www.beerstein.net/articles/bsb-1.htm

Beer steins are highly collectible. Prior to the mid nineteenth century steins were unique as they were made to order, making articles from this era more valuable and therefore more collectible.http://www.beerstein.net/articles/collect.htm

There is a great deal of information available about beer steins on the Internet, so that anyone wishing to start a collection will be able to make an informed choice when making their purchases, whether online, in a retail store, or antique shop.http://www.steincenter.com/history.shtm