Awesome Since 1516 Men's Beer T-Shirt

Tankard, banner and the year 1516

A bellied glass tankard, the beer inside a deep gold-brown, a head of foam hanging thickly over the rim. Green hop cones and golden ears of barley grow out on either side. Across the top a cream ribbon carries AWESOME in dark serif capitals; underneath, SINCE 1516 sits between two small sprigs of barley. The ribbon is folded back at both ends and throws short shadows, and the lettering follows its gentle curve. Horizontal and vertical hatching suggests cut glass, and the head spills over the rim in three rounded lobes.

Why 1516

1516 is the year of the Bavarian purity law, under which beer was to be brewed from water, barley and hops and nothing else. The shirt toasts a good five hundred years of brewing, in English and with a wink. Awesome, says the ribbon, and few people at the bar will argue the point.

Warm colours, old style

Cream, gold-brown and green make up the whole print, held together by dark outlines. On brown and black the motif lies on the fabric like an aged label; on red and sorbet it is the green hop cones that step forward.

The shirt itself

Frechstoff prints on cotton jersey, 100% of it. The cloth runs to 185 g/m², a good deal more substantial than a thin summer tee, and because the body leaves the knitting machine as one tube, no side seam appears on it. Rib binding rings the neck opening; a tape crosses the nape. Black and red reach the 5XL end of the scale, while brown and sorbet break off at 3XL.