For Estonians, beer has been the favourite beverage for feasts and celebrations, and as a sacrificial drink that was offered to benevolent spirits and to ancestors. That could be one of the reasons for rich décor found on a number of types of vessels used for beer.

Although wooden, lidded steins are not typical of Estonia only - they are known also in Finland, Sweden and Latvia - those in the neighbouring countries are no match to Estonian ones, either in regard of size, or décor.

Old beer steins show an excellent harmony in form and are remarkably embellished. Both the lid and the handle are regularly decorated with notches, the handle often with a latticed wheel at the bottom end and a horse head on the top, with the sides done in pokerwork.

Double steins with two receptacles attached to the same handle, were produced for weddings. The bride and the groom had to drink from such a tricky mug together, without spilling a drop! Only thus could they secure a happy marriage for themselves.

Several festive mugs had a double bottom, which was filled with dry peas or pellets - when one topped such a mug, it made a rattling noise. A nice sound, but it also meant that nobody could have a drink in secret. On occasions where a larger amount of beer was consumed - which meant on most occasions - an important vessel was the piipkann ('pipe flagon'), a bulkier container with a long pipe-shaped spout. It was used to fetch beer from a vat and pour into steins. These were also decorated, but never to the same degree of richness as the drinking mugs.