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Itching to Sample a Good Beer? Try German!

The German people are renowned for a lot of things; one of them is beer. With over thirteen-hundred various breweries spanning the country, beer is a crucial part of their tradition and ancestry. As far as per capita beer drinking, the German people are only behind the Czechs and the Irish. The history of German beer goes back to the origin of the nation when monks started to experiment with brewing around one-thousand A.D. Eventually, brewing became really profitable for the monks and the nation's leaders began to legislate the manufacturing of the beer. The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, or purity standard, was written in 1516 and remains the most important and significant factor to effect Germanic brewing.

The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot was authorized by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria to guarantee Bavarian beers were only of the highest quality. Hops, barley, and water are the only ingredients that should go in in beer according to the regulation. Unaltered after nearly five-hundred years, the Reinheitsgebot is the oldest regulation placed on drinks on the earth. The only addition to the proclamation is the adding of yeast to the list of essential ingredients. Manufacturers before had simply used the yeast found naturally in the air. Because of the tough code of quality following the purity standard, Bavarian producers were soon considered the superior makers of beer. As the notoriety of the Bavarian breweries spread across the nation more and more manufacturers started to adhere to the act as well.

German beers have a long-standing notoriety of making quality brews made only from the purest ingredients as a result of the Reinheitsgebot. Some towns became famed brewing locations as time went on and Germany began to export beer. The city of Bremen had over six-hundred breweries in it by fifteen-hundred and was the leading exporter of beer to Holland, Scandinavia, England, and even as far as India. A couple of other famed brewing cities were Einbeck and Braunschweig. Because of it's full-bodied flavor and right amount of foam the majority of modern Germans still choose fabbier, or draught beer, over bottle beer. In use still today, German beer steins became popular around the time the purity standard came along in an effort to prevent more outbreaks of the black plague.

Germany began a lot of regulations to prevent its citizens from becoming ill during the era of the bubonic plague. Massive amounts of diseased flies would fly in citizen's food and spread the infection. This led to the stein, a drink vessel with a hinged top that could be operated with the thumb so a person could prevent infection and still be able to drink with their free hand. As citizens began to realize the plague spread in unclean conditions with stagnant water, beer consumption rose exponentially. Originally crafted from stoneware with pewter lids, German beer steins grew in popularity. German beer steins started to be crafted completely of pewter for almost 300 years as the pewter guild grew. Still manufactured today, silver and porcelain German beer steins were eventually
introduced.

Today there are over thirteen-hundred and fifty breweries within Germany's lands that produce more than 5000 brands of beer. The oldest brewery in the world that continues operation today is the Benedictine abbey Weihenstephan, that has been producing beer since 1040. The Franconia region of Bavaria by the city Bamberg is the highest concentrated area for beer makers in Germany. The majority of beers can be placed under ales and lagers but German beer makers make a wide variety of tastes. Most beers have an alcoholic content from 4.7% to 5.4% but some brands can be as high as 12%, making them more potent than most wines.

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Michael Usry is a long-time beer lover and contributing author for "Beer Maniac" fanzine in Austin, Tx. He is also a top affiliate at beer tap handles, and german beer steins, websites for household draft beer accessories.

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