Beer is a major component of cultures around the world, from Germany to Russia, Czech, the US, Canada and virtually any other country around the world. And while languages, traditions and cultures may vary, one thing remains a necessity: wood beer mugs.
If you’ve never used a wooden stein before, the following buying guide can help.
What Kind of Wood Is Used?
The type of wood used to construct your mug is important. Different woods have different properties, and there are a lot of options to choose from. The most common woods used in manufacturing these mugs are:
- Ash Wood
- Oak
- Walnut
When considering which type of wood is best for your mug, keep in mind that the most important thing is that you choose a solid wood mug. Solid wood ensures the highest durability level.
Benefits of Wooden Beer Mugs Over Glass
Trying to choose between a glass or wooden stein? It’s a difficult choice, but there’s one obvious reason that wood is often chosen: it doesn’t break easily. The glass models may look nice and make it easy to see when you need a refill, but if you drop them, you can be sure that glass will shatter on the floor.
Wood can also break, but it’s a far less delicate material than glass.
A few of the benefits of a wooden tankard are:
- Wood is a better insulator than glass. Glass tends to allow far more heat into your beer, making it warm faster.
- Cleaning glass mugs, especially when you have a lot of them, is a time-consuming process. Wood makes owning and cleaning dozens of steins a quick and easy process.
- Sweat, caused by the liquid in the glass, won’t occur when you use a wooden mug. For bars or surfaces where small beads of water means more cleanup, wood is superior.
The one time when wood is not better than glass is when pouring. If you’re pouring in a busy bar or something similar, you can’t see how much liquid is in the mug easily. You’ll need to pay much closer attention when pouring into a wooden mug versus its glass counterpart.
But, for most consumers, they prefer the benefits of a wooden beer mug over glass any day.
Why Design Is So Important
Design is going to be really important, and we’re not just talking about the exterior look of the mug. A lot of beer drinkers wouldn’t want to drink out of a wooden mug, not in a pub or bar, because wood is porous.
The porosity of the wood allows for beer to get trapped in the wood, causing bacteria to grow.
High-end wooden beer mug manufacturers note these issues and started to put a stainless-steel interior inside of the mug. The stainless-steel interior ensures that the porous nature of wood doesn’t impact the sanitary requirements of health departments.
You also benefit from the stainless-steel offering a double layer of insulation, which will keep your beer colder for longer.
Wooden beer mugs are making a comeback. They’re heavy. They’re durable. And they’re the focal point of the room when they’re placed in front of you. Using the recommendations above, we’re confident you’ll be able to choose a mug that’s perfect for your drinking needs.