Catalogue no. BBG098

Star Pils

Brewery: Brouwerij Excelsior
Beer style: Pils
Glass style: Pilsner
Capacity: 25cl
Place: Ghent (Flanders)

Curator’s Notes

These two 25 cl Pils glasses survive from Brouwerij Excelsior of Ghent, whose Star Pils was once widely sold but has long since disappeared.

The glasses themselves are classic, functional Pils designs: tall straight-sided bodies, ribbed lower glass and a gold rim. The branding is more distinctive. A large red and white star sits above the flowing Excelsior name, although, intriguingly, the words “Star Pils” appear nowhere on the glass — only “Pils” at the centre of the star. Look closely at the pair and they are not quite identical. The glass on the left has a small imperfection in the printed star, a pleasing reminder of the less-than-perfect manufacturing behind everyday commercial glassware.

I believe these glasses probably date from around the 1960s or 1970s, although I have not been able to establish that securely. Excelsior was acquired by Brouwerij Haacht in 1969 and brewing in Ghent subsequently ceased.

The glasses therefore offer a small surviving glimpse of a beer, a brand and a brewery that have all disappeared.

Star Pils

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