AN HB STEIN WITH AN INTERESTING LID 



Just picked up an interesting numbered HB stein that is different from other HB steins I have in my collection or have seen before. I am not sure the exact age of the stein, but I would hazard a guess that it is most likely from the 1880's. The number on the lid of the stein is number 65. The stein is a 1/2 Litre in size, and does not feature the typical etched HB on the body of the stein, but has the trademarked HB logo on the lid. What is most interesting about the stein, is the lid. The lid has the HB logo with the crown above, which places the stein at 1879 or later, which is when the logo was trademarked, but rather than bearing the typical Kgl. Hof-braeuhaus Muenchen script around the logo. It simply says Hofbraeuhaus Muenchen. What is unique to this stein is also that is also has the words SCHUTZ MARKE as part of the logo. This is something that is unique and that I haven`t seen before on an antique HB stein. This leads me to believe that this stein could possibly be from shortly after the logo was trademarked, and before they included the Kgl. Hof-Braeuhaus Muenchen as the script around the logo. At this point I am just hypothesizing about the age, but intrigued to find out more about the stein and its age.

Article Sheds Light on the Origin of Marked HB Steins

Recently I came across an interesting article titled: Der bayerische Masskrug und das bayerische Bier, written by Siegfried Rübensaal. The article title translated is The Bavarian Beer Stein and Bavarian Beer. It delves into the history of Bavarian steins providing valuable insight and information on the steins of a number of Bavarian breweries. What I found that was of particular interest to me was the section of the article that talked about the transition of the standard unit of measure from the Bavarian Mass to the Litre, and also, the bits of the article that talked specifically about HB steins. Although HB steins were not the focus of the article, it there were was a very interesting piece of information that I was not aware of before. Siegfried stated that the Hofbraeuhaus began mark their steins on the body by etching in the HB around 1860. Previously I had been aware that HB marked steins pre-dated the transition from the Bavarian Mass to the Litre, but had know idea how long before. This valuable piece of information indicates that there was roughly a 10 year period where HB steins could have been manufactured with the Bavarian Mass rather than the Litre. In the article there was also a picture of one such stein (above). The picture was not of high enough resolution to get a good look at the measure markings, or detailed features of the stein, but it nonetheless gives a glimpse as to what an HB stein from the 1860's looked like.
The article is written in German, but with the use of Google Translate, much of what is written is understandable. The article is a good read and valuable resource for information for those interested in Bavarian steins, especially brewery steins. Check it out. If anyone reading this knows of a means to conatct the author of the article; Siegfried Rübensaal, please e-mail me at the address provided on the blog. I would like to get in touch with him to ask him further information about the pictured stein, and any other knowledge he might have about early HB steins.

HB Stein #5643 -Recent Addition To My Collection

I recently added an old HB stein which is #5643 to my collection. It dates from the late-1870's to mid- 1880's. It has a flat lid with the HB on the lid without the crown above it, and an acorn thumblift. The body has a crudely etched HB, is combed, and has the measure on the front. I haven't yet received it in the mail, but will post more pictures when it arrives.

HB Keg Top

The most recent addition to my HB collection is a unique item. It is the top of a HB keg used at the Hofbrauhaus. It dates from after 1939 (Says Staatl. Hofbrauhaus rather than Kgl.), but I am not sure from exactly when. It bears the number 2096, and is 31cm in diameter. This is a nice consolation to the kegs that were sold last year on eBay, but were unavailable to Canada.



Hofbräuhaus Oktoberfest Steins

Recently online a couple of different collectors have sold their HB Oktoberfest stein collections. Although I didn't purchase the steins, I saved pictures of the steins. Below is a pictorial of the majority of the HB Oktoberfest steins in between the years 1982 and 2012. The years that are missing are: 1983, 1990, 1996, 2001, 2007 and 2012. Sorry, I tried to get the pictures to line up in order, but it wouldn't seem to work.

1985

1982

1984

1986

1991

1989

1993

1999

1995

1997

2004

2005

2003

2002 

2000

1992

1994

1987

2008

1988

1998

2009

2010

2006

2011

Engravings Can't Always Be Relied Upon To Date A Stein

I have encountered a number of instances with HB steins where there has been an engraving on the stein by a previous owner that often has a date. In many instances the engraving coincides with when the stein was made and is a reliable means to date the stein. In some cases however, the engravings on the steins are much later than the date when the stein was produced and first saw usage. What the date on an engraving can definitely tell you is the latest possible age of a stein. Below is an example of a stein that I just purchased that has an engraving on the inside of the lid, that is far later than the date when the stein was produced. The makers mark on the stein, which is partially engraved over, indicates that the stein was made by W. Wild, whom from my research made HB steins in the 1880's. The crude way that the HB is etched is also indicative of an HB stein from the 1880's and not something that was done in the late 1890's. The engraving on the stein bears the name P.Kröber E.Friedrich and the date Easter 1898. It is likely that this stein was a gift, or perhaps passed down to the person whose name is engraved, by the original owner of the stein.

Old HB Photos

Old photos are always interesting, because of the snapshot they give us of what once was. Below are a few old Hofbräuhaus related photos that I have come across online that all seem to tell their own story about what the great beer hall was like in the past. The first picture is apparently of legendary Hofbräuhaus server Anni Popp. The second is of two servers with their hands full. The third and fourth pictures show life inside the beer hall circa. 1897. The fifth and sixth photos show the interior of the Hofbräuhaus, and the last photo shows the exterior of the Hofbräuhaus in 1895.

Hofbräuhaus Numbered Steins and HB Steins with Receipts

In the distant past the Hofbräuhaus used to number their steins. According to Walter Mück, who has written a book on Munich brewery steins (" Historische Bierkrüge Münchner Brauereien" which you can buy on his site), the numbers on the lid were to keep track of the inventory of steins. If a stein got broken, which many did they would issue a new stein with the number, or if they needed more inventory they would make a new range of numbers. His insight explains why you may see a very low number on what is obviously a newer stein than some with higher numbers that are clearly older. Steins with a particular number may have been broken several times and replaced over and over in the inventory. I would imagine also that the numbers would help the people serving the beer, identify which customer had which stein. The highest number on a stein that I have encountered is # 28,670.

At some point, the Hofbräuhaus made numbered steins available for purchase, as well as using them strictly for inventory. The evidence that suggests this is that a few numbered steins have surfaced that have original sales receipts. I imagine that once a stein was sold, that particular number would be out of circulation and would not be remade. The earliest HB stein with it's original receipt dates from 1898. Ron Gray the owner of the stein wrote and artiucle about it. The link to the article is http://www.steincollectors.org/steinmo/2004/HB.html. The latest one I have come across is dated from 1914. That means for at least 16 years numbered steins were available for purchase. It is unknown whether or not there was a certain criteria to able to purchase your own numbered stein. Perhaps they were only sold to regular longtime patrons (like the stein lockers there today), or maybe there was no restriction and anyone was able to purchase them. I am yet to see in over 100 numbered steins, a duplicate. That doesn't mean there isn't any, with close to 30,000 numbers having been issued. There is no archive at the Hofbräuhaus anymore, so many of the questions that could have easily been answered at this time cannot be.

If you have a numbered HB Stein, I have compiled an HB Stein Registry that is cataloguing numbered HB steins. The registry is sent out each month to those that contribute.

Below is pictured the HB stein in my own collection that still has the receipt. It was purchased in 1912.

Recently Auctioned on eBay- Chair From the Hofbräuhaus- Boy I Wish the Seller Shipped to Canada

Recently on eBay a chair from the Hofbräuhaus was auctioned. Unfortunately the seller wouldn't ship to Canada, or I would have tried to buy it for sure. It went for an unbelievably low price. I imagine the shipping would have been quite high though. You can see from the two pictures that were in the listing that the chair has a lot of character and would pretty cool in any mancave or bar area.



The Latest Additions To My HB Stein Collection

These 2 steins are the latest additions to my HB Stein Collection. They date from 1890's and are both numbered. The steins were made by Ludwig Mory (as seen in the picture) who was a popular maker in Munich, and whose business is still operational today by his descendants. The imprint on the body of the stein is to my knowledge the first style of HB Stein that had HB with the crown. Earlier styles had either just an etched HB or a crudely carved HB, but no crown.