Beer Boot

Beer boots are a uniquely German innovation. Leave it to the world’s greatest beer loving nation to come up with drinking from a boot! Glass beer boots are a popular German souvenir especially in Bavaria and Munich’s Okotoberfest. The German custom of drinking for a boot –shaped drinking vessel supposedly started as a German army tradition during World War I. Soldiers would pass around a leather boot of “bier” prior to engaging the enemy. It was considered good luck to flick the beer boot before and after drinking from it. Americans soldiers were introduced to the custom of drink from a glass beer boot while stationed in Germany after World War II. There is a trick to drinking from a beer boot as to not get showered with beer if the toe of the boot is pointed in the wrong direction. The American soldiers had great fun with the beer boots and the fine German beer during their time in Germany . Many of them brought back beer boots and beer steins with them on their return to United States. Beer boots saw a rise in popularity with the release of the movie BEERFEST by the folks from the Broken Lizard comedy group. In this movie beer boots were used in a beer drinking competition that was no doubt repeated countless times on college campuses after the movies was released.