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Much has been written, talked about, and speculated on CS1, the original Bud Man stein. So I guess it’s about time I took a stab at either trying to confuse or enlighten you.
Like many early steins produced by Ceramarte, there were few standards and many workers to interpret the information at hand. It has been speculated that when the company sent out prototype steins for approval, they sent the same set of masters to several locations. This meant that each location could have possibly chosen and ordered a different version of the same stein.
This is one explanation for the many variations of the original stein. Another could possibly be that when orders were repeated, the proper information or the same material was not available. We have verified five variations of this stein and will attempt to describe them in simple terms. Please keep in mind these are the major differences and that many slight variations will exist.
1. Head
• Solid — when the head is raised the bottom or inside will be flat.
• Hollow — when the head is raised the inside is somewhat concave usually having a hole with a plastic plug installed.2. Thumblift
• Three-finger — resembles three fingers placed together creating the thumblift.
• Fleur-de-lis — resembles the fleur-de-lis pattern.
• Fancy — resembles the fleur-de-lis pattern, but is not as ornate.3. Bow Tie
Some have knots in the bow tie and some do not.
4. Color
There are slight variations of all the colors with the red going from bright red to light orange; the blue from light to very dark, and the tan from light to dark.
The eyes can be large and friendly, two small beady eyes that seem to say “give me a beer.”
There is also one major factor which may help to identify the first releases. It is the omission of the ® to represent a registered trademark.
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These variations have been combined to identify five specific versions of CS1, as follows:
Due to its popularity, Bud Man was re-released as CS100 in 1989 and again as CS-213 in 1993. Both versions resemble a more modern, leaner Bud Man. CS213 is easily distinguished by sun glasses and a can of Bud in the right hand.Version 1 — CS1 Hollow head, fleur-de-lis thumblift, no knot in bow tie, normal colors, no trademark symbol.
Version 2 — CS1 Hollow head, fleur-de-lis thumblift, no knot in tie, very light blue with other colors normal, no trademark symbol.
Version 3 — CS1 Solid head, fancy thumblift, has knot in bow tie, normal colors, has trademark symbol. This stein also has a strip of tan running down its back.
Version 4 — CS1 Solid head, three-fingered thumblift, has knot in bow tie, normal colors, has trademark symbol. This stein also has a strip of tan running down its back.
Version 5 — CS1 Solid head, three-fingered thumblift, no knot in tie, normal colors, has trademark symbol.
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*Reprinted by permission from American Breweriana Journal, January-February 1996, published by the American Breweriana Association.
