Inspiration

The Secret Meaning of German Beer Coasters

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Order a beer in Germany, and it will always come slipped to you atop—or slapped down on—a coaster. But not just any coaster—there isn't wood or marble or plastic here. Maybe you’ll get a circular blue and white one that says Hofbräuhaus München, or maybe you’ll get a blue, white, and red one that reads Paulaner München and has Saint Francis of Paola on it, instead. Looking for a Bitburger, König Ludwig Weissbier, Karlsberg UrPils, Weihenstephaner, Erdinger, or Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu coaster? You’ll find those, too, and hundreds of others in an array of colors and shapes. But they will always be there, weighted down under your hefeweizens, your dunkels, your pilsners. And they will always be made of pressed paper.

These seemingly ordinary objects have a long and curious history: Called bierdeckel, this iteration of a beer coaster was originally invented in Germany in the 1880s as a cheap way of protecting beer. While wealthier Germans were able to afford porcelain tankard mugs with lids (see: beer steins), those in the working class needed a way to protect their drink from insects, and the bierdeckel was born. Bierdeckel eventually began being placed underneath the glasses to protect tables, and as the product spread quickly, companies began imprinting personalized messages and logos on them. One hundred thirty years and thousands of Bitburger beers later, the tradition is still going strong. Who knew one of the earliest forms of advertising is owed to a German bar?

As a souvenir, bierdeckel are easy to come by—visit Germany today, and they are as ubiquitous as ever. Oftentimes, waiters use them as tabs, and will mark how many drinks you’ve had on the coaster before tallying what you owe on the back. Beer coasters from decades ago have become collectors' items, and political parties today have used bierdeckel to spread messages—a condensed version of the Free Democratic Party’s tax plan, say, or statistics about immigration integration—and a “Bible on a Beer Mat” has also been developed by the Protestant church in Hesse and Nassau. Given that it’s the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we have a feeling Martin Luther would approve.