Branding on Coasters

The first printed coasters were introduced in 1900. Initially, these mats were printed in a single colour, usually bearing the printers’ name. Pretty soon, however, this captured the imagination of the marketing teams of breweries who recognized the advantages of targeted advertising.

Soon the concept of beer mats was taken up by breweries outside of Germany with Watney, Combe and Reid, a London-based brewery introducing these printed mats to the UK between 1918 and 1924. The first mats that they printed, made use of the labels of two bottles, and featured Watney’s Pale Ale and Reid’s Stout. Other breweries were quick to adopt this advertising concept and coasters featured branding by Tennants, Michells & Butlers, and Worthington.

In the USA coasters were first introduced in the early 1900’s and were used as an advertising medium until prohibition in 1920 till 1933. However, they really came back into fashion in the 1970’s and are referred to as beer coasters in the US and Australia. Pre-prohibition coasters have become collectors’ items with a market value of up to $1500.