One of the various things the German people are renowned for is beer. Beer is an important part of their tradition and heritage, with more than thirteen-hundred varied breweries spanning the land. The Czechs and the Irish are the only nations who outdo the Germans with beer consumption per capita. The monks began to experiment with brewing around one-thousand A.D. at the origin of the Germanic history The country's leaders eventually started to regulate the manufacturing of beer as brewing became more and more lucrative. The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, or purity requirement, was enacted in 1516 and is still the most prominent and influential factor to effect German 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 allowed in beer according to the standard. The Reinheitsgebot is the oldest regulation put on food in the world and has not been changed in nearly five-hundred years. The only addition to the act is the addition of yeast to the cache of vital ingredients. Yeast found naturally in the air was what manufacturers before used. Because of the strict standard of quality followed by the purity standard, Bavarian breweries were soon considered the best manufacturers of beer. As the notoriety of the Bavarian breweries spread across the nation more and more producers started to follow the proclamation also.
German beers have a long-standing position of producing quality beers made only from the purest ingredients as a result of the Reinheitsgebot. As time went on and Germany started to ship out beer, many towns became famed brewing locations. The town of Bremen had over 600 breweries in it by 1500 and was the leading exporter of beer to Holland, Scandinavia, England, and even as far as India. Two more famous brewing towns were Einbeck and Braunschweig. In modern Germany, the majority of the country's beer-drinking people still prefer fabbier, or draught beer, over bottled beer because of it's full-bodied flavor and right amount of head foam. In an effort to prevent further breakouts of the black plague German beer steins became popular about the time the purity requirement came out and are still in use today.
During the era of the bubonic plague, Germany started several regulations to stop its people from becoming sick. Massive amounts of diseased flies would fly in people's food and spread the disease. This led to the German beer stein, a drink holder with a closed lid that is used with the thumb so a person could stop infection and still be able to drink with one hand. Beer drinking rose exponentially as citizens started to realize the disease spread in dirty conditions with stale water. German beer steins were originally made of stoneware with pewter lids. German beer steins started to be made completely of pewter for nearly 300 years as the pewter guild became more powerful. Eventually, porcelain and silver German beer steins were introduced and continue to be manufactured today.
Nowadays there are over 1350 breweries within Germany's lands that manufacture more than five-thousand kinds of beer. The oldest beer maker in the world that continues operation in the present is the Benedictine abbey Weihenstephan, that has been making beer since 1040. The most concentrated area in Germany for beer makers is the Franconia region of Bavaria near the city Bamberg. German breweries manufacture a large range of flavors and brands of beer with the majority of them able to be placed under ales or lagers. Some kinds of beer may have an alcoholic content as high as 12%, making them stronger than most wines even though the majority of beers have an alcoholic content ranging from 4.7% to 5.4%.
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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.
