20. April 2016

2016 Art Collection Edition Celebrates 500 Year Anniversary of Purity Law

2016 is a big year for German beer! On April 23, beer fans around the world will raise a glass and toast to the 500 Year Anniversary of the German Purity Law, the world’s oldest continuous food law. According to the “Reinheitsgebot”, as it is called in German, only water, barley malt and hops are allowed in brewing beer. For over 260 years, our Warsteiner master brewers have proudly upheld this promise by using only the finest ingredients, such as Hallertau hops, top-quality brewing spring barley and uniquely soft water locally sourced in the Arnsberg Forest.

To celebrate this momentous anniversary, the Warsteiner Brewery is launching its 2016 Limited Art Collection Tulip Glass Edition. True to our tradition of engaging cutting-edge artistic minds, we teamed up with one of Germany’s premier young designers – Andreas Preis. His signature style – using pencils, fineliners and digital media – is easy to spot and impossible to forget. A look at his remarkable portfolio reveals an astonishing scope of artistic expressions including record covers, magazine illustrations as well as designs and logos for major international brands.

“The idea was to really capture the essence in a very straightforward way. Nothing but water, barley malt and hops… These are the ingredients of a good beer as well as of my designs. I just took those three things, added my personal style and it all went from there.”

Andreas Preis used the simplicity of the purity law as his inspiration

Preis joins Warsteiner’s illustrious line-up of creative minds – from Andy Warhol to the more recent designers of the Warsteiner Art Collection including some of the most influential names of the urban art scene such as Stefan Strumbel, Fafi and Kevin Lyons.

When asked about his artistic approach, Andreas Preis explains: “Even though I had seen barley and hops before, a lot of research was necessary in the beginning of the project. Since my style is quite detailed, I wanted to see what those two ingredients look like in real life. So after viewing many different photos, I started doing some very rough sketches first. I had to get a feel for the shape of the glass as well as for the actual possibilities as far as printing is concerned. The theme was obviously an anniversary, so I tried to make it really colorful and lively, but still clean enough to give it kind of a classy look. Everything was drawn by hand at first. To make the print as crisp as possible, I rebuilt it later in Illustrator.”

Take a look at Andreas Preis’ stunning interpretations: While three tulip glasses showcase water, barley, and hops respectively, the fourth glass displays a combination of these three ingredients as a nod to the final product: Warsteiner – Premium German beer, always brewed in accordance with the German Purity Law!

The 2016 Art Collection reflects Warsteiner’s ongoing commitment to art and design as an expression of authenticity and originality. Available for a limited time only, all our Art Collection pieces have quickly become highly sought-after collector items, cherished by beer fans and art lovers alike. So hurry up and get your very own piece of history while enjoying our premium beers!

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