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| Bitburger Pils The Phoenix Club, Anaheim, CA |
Happy #GermanBeerDay!
On this day over 500 years ago, April 23, 1516, Duke of Bavaria, Wilheim IV decreed what will eventually be the longest still-standing brewing standard we now refer to as the German Purity Law: The Reinheitsgebot.
The story goes, this law was enacted so brewers could produce quality beer using only water, hops, and barley malt. Yeast was not mentioned because they did not yet know about what it was, it is said. Although it makes for a wonderful story, this is only partially true. Of the over 300 translated words, a bit less than 30 of them are about beer.
Among other reasons, the Purity Law was legislated to stabilize the price of bread by ensuring barley was used for beer and resulted in only backers could use wheat for bread and the royals could use wheat for their beer. Wilheim IV, as a member of the royal Bavarian family, the Wittelsbach’s, had a historical, unwilling hand in the modern-day Weissbier (Hefeweizen) with this order, too. By the way, the Wittelsbach's are also the royal family that would later celebrate (in 1810) a wedding of a prince that would later become the Oktoberfest.
An undisputed positive result was the ban on the use of some ingredients that were harming beer drinkers before the proclamation was enacted. Additives, such as belladonna or wormwood, would have some psychedelic and/or toxic effects that understandably found their way off the list of approved list of ingredients.
It can be argued the non-mention of yeast is because it did not stay in the beer. However, it is most likely that yeast was indeed known at that time because there were brewery workers called ‘hefener,’ and ‘hefe’ means yeast. They were responsible to put the ‘zeug’ (stuff) leftover from one batch to another to encourage fermentation. Perhaps they did know it was yeast, which could explain why it was left out, but they knew it did the job. In other words, it may be that yeast was simply implied.
This law only applied to Bavarian breweries, too. Lager brewing was very well established by this time and the restrictions in The Purity Law were favorable, luckily. In 1553, Wilheim’s successor and son, Duke Albrecht V, outlawed brewing in the summer months due to the inconsistent beers being produced during these warmer months. The dates Albrecht chose were April 23rd, the original date of his father’s proclamation, to September 29th. They didn't understand why, yet they knew fermentation and cold storage (“Lagern,” German verb “to store”) done in the colder months of the year resulted in higher quality beers.
Northern breweries were predominantly Ale producers and most used either wheat and/or other spices. In fact, Köln (Cologne) enacted a similar decree in 1603 that outlawed bottom-fermenting (Lager) brewing to preserve the brewing tradition and beer quality. Some have speculated this was done in direct response, while the timing may only be a coincidence. The more logical reason is the clement in Northern Germany is warmer on average and is more suitable for top-fermenting (Ale) conditions.
To add more confusion, in 1551, Bavaria began to allow the use of some additional ingredients, such as coriander, and in 1616 more ingredients were added, like salt. German Unification in 1871 resulted in a law that omitted mention of any ingredient restriction for taxation purposes. Ale and Lagers were separated in the law in 1906 and the ingredient restriction only applied to Lagerbier.
The first time the decree was referred to as “The Purity Law” was not until after World War I. Bavaria joined the new German union under the pretense that their version of the Purity Law joined with them, thereby creating two laws once again, for Ales and Lagers. It was referred to as the Reinheitsgebot from 1919 going forward. This means the Lager brewing tradition that was perfected in Bavaria can still adhere to their law while the Ale producers (Kölsch, Alt, Weisse, Gose, etc…) are also legal. Both laws are now under the Biersteuergesetz (Beer Tax Law) after the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, unifying Germany yet again.
In 1987, the European Union declared that imported beer into Germany does not need to meet The Purity Law.
The 1993( most recent) update to the law further clarifies what was done in 1906. The law is still the same, with the addition of being more restrictive in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg with no additional adjunct sugars permitted, even for Ale, and Bavaria can not use sugar adjuncts even for export.
Clear enough? No!? Well, that's understandable. Given the turbulent past in that region, the constant modification of the law makes it difficult to follow. Add to that the use of the word Reinheitsgebot in marketing and we have the understanding (or misunderstanding?) of the proclamation.
On this German Beer Day, take joy that the pride of German brewing tradition is alive and well. Hoist your pint up and appreciate the part of history that played an integral part in shaping that beer.
Prost!
Gilbert “Charlie” Perez, Advanced Cicerone®
References
Alworth, J. (2015, 2021). The Beer Bible. Workman.
Dornbusch, H. D. (1997). Prost! The Story of German Beer. Brewers Publications (Brewers Association).
Kraus-Weyermann, T., Dornbusch, H. D. (2018). Dark Lagers: History, Mystery, Brewing Techniques, Recipes. Master Brewers Associations of the Americas (MBAA).
Alworth, J. (2015, 2021). The Beer Bible. Workman.
Dornbusch, H. D. (1997). Prost! The Story of German Beer. Brewers Publications (Brewers Association).
Kraus-Weyermann, T., Dornbusch, H. D. (2018). Dark Lagers: History, Mystery, Brewing Techniques, Recipes. Master Brewers Associations of the Americas (MBAA).