As some may kow, beer tankards came very close to extinction when the last factory to make the handled beer glass closed in 2001. Pubs and bars opted for straight sided beer glasses such as the nonic, conical and tulip during the nineties and early noughties. However during recent years we've noticed that beer tankards are making a reappearance in pubs across the country. 

We've been at the forefront of the trend for several years and the BBC News has recently recognised the return of dimpled and tankard beer glasses too!

The revival of these retro beer glasses which became near obsolete in the noughties, following a decline from its heyday in the 1960s, is almost certainly tied-in with the current popularity of UK beer and cask-ale brewers.

Manager at the Shacklewell Arms in Dalston, east London, Rose Dennen said: ”It’s not old men with flat caps and whippets drinking out of dimple glasses, now you’ve got hipsters, girls in skinny jeans and fashionable Ts, drinking craft beer. There’s an appropriation of the traditional by the hipster culture. There are so many beards in Dalston, and they do love a dimple.

“There’s a huge array of stemmed glassware in Belgium, Germans have the beer stein, and the British have dimpled pint pots – it’s a nice iconic British tradition to hold on to. They also have a really lovely feel when you put them down on a beer mat – they are solid and reassuringly comforting.” 

This year we have introduced a number of new beer mugs to the collection. Classic dimpled beer glasses remain a firm favourite due to their familiar design and chunky durability. There are now also a number of contemporary handled beer glasses available and even plastic beer tankards which are perfect for outdoor events!

Most importantly we'd say, is our exclusive revival of Britain's first handled beer glass, the iconic Lantern Tankard. This ten-sided glass revolutionsed British drinking and now its been revived using an original mould from Knottingley's Crystal Glass Company. This piece of British beer history is only available from Stephensons.

To learn more on the origins of this iconic glass, please read this blog post on the return of the Lantern Tankard from renowned beer writer and historian Martyn Cornell here — Zythophile; Hurrah! The 10-Sided Beer Mug is Back!

Beer Tankards - From the blog:

• The Ten Sided Beer Mug Is Back
• Dimpled Beer Glasses Make The BBC News
• Ensuring Your Glassware Sparkles
• In The Spotlight: Beer Glasses