Talk:Drink coaster

Beermat?
Why is this page called "beermat"? Don't more people refer to this item as a coaster? It can be used for more than just beer. If I'm using one for a glass of iced tea or a can of soda, I'm not going to refer to it as a beermat. Same thing goes for the page called Beer koozie. I think it should be just koozie, not beer koozie. Yet koozie redirects to beer koozie, even though it can be used for more than just beer. BucsWeb (talk) 20:50, 9 December 2008 (UTC)


 * British english. In our collective experience, the term "beer mat" is basically used 'never' in the US- but it's the prevalent term for what we'd call a 'coaster' in Europe, even translated. The page was created in British English, and thus it will stay, as per WP:ENGVAR. It's not really a big deal, as the Coaster disambig page links here. -- King ♣    Talk    15:27, 23 June 2009 (UTC)

A correction, Wikipedia articles must not use terminology not recognizable to the majority of the public. (See the manual of style) So in this case, as the only major European audience this page will see is in the UK, the majority of users would recognize coaster, thus a change is required, since the Manual of style will prevail in any conflict with other directives (see the manual of style.) Ronk01 (talk) 02:20, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

I disagree. A coaster and a beermat are not coterminus. I use a coaster for a coffee mug, but a beermat for cool beverages. Can this page be called beermats please? I woould never find it otherwise! (British English) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.158.138.20 (talk) 16:35, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

I agree that a coaster and beermat have some form-factor overlap, but there are definitely coasters that are not beer mats, although I cannot confidently say that the reverse is true. I ended up on this page trying to determine why a coaster is called a coaster, but there is no etymology section, most likely because the page originated from British English. I also see a section that attempted to answer that question was excised due to veracity. Spawn777 (talk) 23:40, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

In addition why is beer mat spelt beermat throughout? Google shows the spelling as beer mat (two words). 86.141.56.150 (talk) 21:02, 3 March 2016 (UTC)

Splitting into Beermat
It seems that Beermats (in bars) and coasters are quite different. I think it would be a good idea to split the articles as they are quite diffrent. This article should also separate disposable coasters and reusable ones that are used in homes. Johnnyg150 (talk) 22:10, 26 September 2016 (UTC)


 * They are different, as I doubt the owners of fine furniture in centuries (millennia) past were so blase as to allow people to place wine goblets on them unsheltered. I suspect coasters have existed for thousands of years, and only recently have the marketing shills stolen the idea and turned it into a "trend". 24.76.103.169 (talk) 06:15, 20 February 2017 (UTC)


 * Support As Johnnyg150 said, beermats are different from coasters. Having a separate paragraph on disposable coasters also sounds like a good idea. --Tyynimeri (talk) 07:27, 2 June 2017 (UTC)


 * Oppose. They are the same thing but with a different name. A beermat is the British name for a coaster used in pubs. The same thing anywhere else is called a coaster. Go into an American bar and the beermat is called a coaster. Go into a British pub and the coaster is called a beermat. Do a Google image search for "American bar coasters" and what you'll see is no different to what you see if you do a Google image search for "beermat". SilkTork (talk) 17:57, 14 November 2017 (UTC)


 * Declined. Insufficient evidence of difference and article is short. &middot; &middot; &middot; Peter (Southwood) (talk): 12:49, 29 March 2018 (UTC)

Is sous-bock beer mat or coaster?
There is a beer mat https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q62033192 linked to our sous-bock (fr) but not to this page. This page is linked to https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14973 which does not relate, apparently, to beers. I don't know the English words for sous-bock but something seems wrong, here. → Tristan ♡ (talk) 15:38, 10 April 2022 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 18:37, 1 January 2023 (UTC)
 * Coaster out of the tray.jpg

Surfaces?
I found the first two paragraphs really confusing, especially the line “Pubs usually have beermats spread out across their surfaces. They are used to protect the table's surface, typically made of paper…” I attempted to clarify that material, but I may have gotten something wrong; further edits welcome. (But if you decide to just revert my changes, then please do something else to make that second paragraph clearer.) Elysdir (talk) 15:47, 16 May 2023 (UTC)