The beer steins at Oktoberfest this year will be locally made. Rookwood Pottery is creating the commemorative mugs for the first time.
The design features a wiener dog in Lederhosen, gothic style lettering and a pretzel.
“The glaze is MaltZin brown,” said George Hibben, Rookwood historian. “It's a very rich brown; gives you the sense of the color of beer. On the interior of the stein is patriot blue. To me, it kind of represents our river history.”
The Ohio River was important for transporting supplies for beer making and selling as the industry grew in Cincinnati, before prohibition in the late 1800s.
Around that time, Rookwood began making beer steins.
“We initially made beer steins for the cooperage industry in Cincinnati, they were the barrel making industry,” Hibben said. “That helped our beer industry.”
More than a century later, Rookwood Pottery returned to Cincinnati and resumed making steins for local breweries.
“It just makes sense to continue the beer stein tradition for our Oktoberfest here in town,” Hibben said.
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The partnership between Rookwood and Oktoberfest Zinzinnati began with an unexpected conversation.
Chelsea York, vice president of events and experiences at the Cincinnati Regional Chamber, met a Rookwood Pottery employee at Taste of Cincinnati last year.
“We got to talking and it kind of naturally occurred from there,” York said. “The light bulb went off. Why are we not using a company here locally that has been producing these beautiful steins for over 100 years?”
In the past, a variety of companies, including some in Germany, produced Oktoberfest Zinzinnati’s steins.
“We really are trying to lean into the local business economy here,” York said.
Each stein is made by hand at Rookwood’s Over-the-Rhine factory.
To see photos of the stein being made, click the image at top.