GENERAL BREWERIANA
GALLERY 1
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MATS or COASTERS

East German
commemorative mat


rare Italian mat
from the early '60s		 Beermats were first produced in Germany at the end of the 19th century; originally made of pressed paper, they were thicker than the present ones (about 5 mm., or ¼ of an inch) and had a very simple decoration on one side, while now they often have colourful print on both front and back.
They are extensively used in central Europe and Britain, but in many other countries they are an unusual beer item, or they are not used at all.
British mats are the ones with the most fancy colours and shapes, while German mats are famous for the great variety of sets, some of which made of a very large number of different subjects; also specimens from Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland are quite nice.
Mats are common in east Europe countries too; up to a few years ago they were not very sophisticated, with few colours, although their graphic simplicity was rather interesting all the same; now these mats look exactly like western ones.
This form of collection is known as tegestology from teges, the latin word for 'mat'.
West German mat,
from a pictorial set


Hungarian mat
from the late '80s

British mats:
bright colours
and cool shapes

south-east Asian
beers have mats too
Mexican specimen,
in soft rubber

CAPS

a specimen from
French Antilles

a specimen from
French Polynesia		 Known in different languages as "crown caps" because of their typical zig-zag rim, they are another rather popular beer collectable, easily found all over the world.
Most of them are decorated, or bear the brewer's name, although a few have only a blank surface.
In some cases, the lower part too might have some decoration, like the ones in collectors' series, or for special offers.
In opening bottles, some collectors place a coin over the cap, so to prevent it from bending.


a specimen from
Slovenia
Italian cap with decorations
on the lower surface, for a special offer

a specimen from
Germany

a specimen from
Austria

BAR TOWELS

a British specimen		 Typical British features, used in pubs where they prevent the wooden bar from being soaked by beer spillings.
A few of them come from other countries too, but only English beers have a big variety of brands, colours and labels. Some of them are made for other drinks, especially whisky.
Rectangular in shape, with a more or less standard size, their patterns are usually woven, so that after frequent washings colours do not fade away; a few non-British ones, though, have a printed label.
A special variety are the Australian runners, which can be as long as 3 times the normal towels, covering the bar for most of its length.		 British towel for an Aussie lager

British towel for an Irish ale		 Since a few years they have become a very popular breweriana item all over the world, especially among youngsters, but serious collectors too exist: take a look at the WEBPAGE of the present record holder, Alan Alcott (UK) (e-mail address: bartowels@aalcott.freeserve.co.uk).
unusual specimen from Italy


Australian whisky runner
(by courtesy of Alan Alcott)

FROTH REMOVERS

 These plastic spatulas are sometimes used in European bars (especially in Belgium and the Netherlands) for removing the excess of froth from glasses filled with beer.
The brewery's label is usually printed on the handle.

TIES

Ties are often sold in brewery shops (i.e. shops located by breweries or by brewery museums, selling promotional objects and gadgets).
They look just as ordinary ties, and have fashionable colours, but a close look reveals that their pattern is either a beer label or a brewer's mark.


Worthington (British) and Heineken (Dutch) tie patterns

POSTCARDS

English card		 Postcards may be related to beer and breweries in several ways: they can show old beer posters, or they sometimes picture a famous brewery, or they might even show beer collectables, etc.
Most of them are modern, but pretty old ones exist.
Anyway, they make a perfect card to send to a beer fancier, either collector or not.
German card
two Czech specimens

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