A game, a beer, a festival and so much more

DER STUMPF - it literally means ‘the stump’, referring to the large pine log upon which the old alpine drinking game of Nageln (nails) is played. Friends gather around the stump taking it in turns to try and bang their large nail fully into the stump surface using the thin ‘wrong end’ of a brick hammer or the edge of a large door hinge. It takes quite a few rounds, with many misses and a few bent nails before the winner is cheered. The loser typically has to buy a round and the following games get slightly more difficult and a whole lot more hilarious.

As far as we know, nobody has ever properly codified the game, put an organisation behind it or even settled on a single name for it - until Der Stumpf. We have given it a smart new identity, a whole set of competition rules and and specifications for the stump, the nail, and the hammer. Naturally, a refreshing and very drinkable German-style lager beer needs to go with it so we have formulated that too. And let's not forget the 'cuisine' and our soon-to-be-famous Wurst Käse Szenario meal deal.

Der Stumpf is going to be more than just a game, we’ll be creating a whole series of competitions as the centrepiece of beer festivals and we’ll be looking for the finest Stumpfmeisters and Stumpfmeisteren in the country.