A beer stein or Steinkrug is a traditionally German beer tankard or beaker, made of pewter, silver, wood, porcelain, earthenware, stoneware or glass. Modern Beer steins or stonejugs are usually found with a hinged lid and levered thumblift.

In Germany, it is usually called a Steinkrug, if it is stoneware, or Glaskrug if it is made of glass.

Etymology
The popular term "beer stein" is actually incorrect, literally meaning "beer stone". The term derives from (Bier) "Steinkrug", meaning "Earthenware (stone) mug", which was shortened by English speakers to "Stein" and combined with "Bier" to approximate the English "Beer mug". The generic term is

Maßkrug, literally meaning "dosage gauged jug", whereby the dosage is nowadays 1 litre of beer. In former days the dosage of 1 Mass was 1.069 litre.

The overly decorated "bierstein" is mostly a tourist novelty and is rarely used for drinking. Special cases are the collector's Steins with classic Bavarian motifs like Neuschwanstein, the Munich Glockenspiel or the Oktoberfest poster. Notable exceptions are the Munich Oktoberfest and Bavarian beergardens where 1-liter "Maßkrüge" are the normal type of glass.

The Lid
The lid keeps beer from spilling while vigorously cheering. It started out as a

sanitary measure. During the summers of the late 1400s, central Europe was repeatedly overwhelmed with swarms of flies. This soon led several principalities in Germany to pass laws requiring food and beverage containers to be covered. By adding a hinged lid with a thumb lift on the lid within reach of the mug handle, it was possible to keep a beverage covered and yet open it with the same hand by which it was held.

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