Itching to Try a Fabulous Beer? Do German

The Germans are famous for a lot of things; one of them is brewing. With over 1300

different breweries spread across the land, beer is an important part of their culture

and heritage. As far as per capita beer consumption, the German people are only below the

Czechs and the Irish. The monks started to experiment with brewing around one-thousand

A.D. at the beginning of the Germanic history The nation's monarchy eventually started

to legislate the production of beer as brewing became more and more profitable. The most

important and influential factor to influence German brewing came about in

fifteen-sixteen with the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, or the purity standard.

To help make sure Bavarian beers were only the best quality the Duke Wilhelm IV

authorized the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot. The document states that beers must only be made

of water, hops, and barley. Unaltered after almost five-hundred years, the Reinheitsgebot

is the oldest legislation put on food on the earth. Yeast is the only addition to the

list of essential ingredients in the proclamation. Manufacturers before had just used the

yeast that was naturally in the air. Bavarian beer makers were soon known as the best

producers of beer because of the stringent standard of quality following by the purity

requirement. As the notoriety of the Bavarian breweries spread across the nation other

manufacturers began to adhere to the proclamation as well.

As a result of the Reinheitsgebot, German beers have a long-standing reputation of

producing quality beers made from only the best ingredients. A lot of locations became

famous brewing spots as time passed and Germany started to export beer. By 1500,

Scandinavia, Holland, England, and even as far as India principally recieved their beer

from one of the more than 600 breweries in the town of Bremen. A couple of other famous

brewing towns were Einbeck and Braunschweig. In modern Germany, most of the country's

beer-drinking people still prefer fabbier, or draft beer, over bottled beer because of

it's full-bodied flavor and right amount of head foam. In use still today, German beer

steins became popular about the time the purity standard came about in an effort to stop

further breakouts of the black plague.

During the era of the black plague, Germany originated several regulations to stop its

people from getting ill. Infection would spread as large amounts of infected flies landed

in citizen's food and beverages. This led to the German beer stein, a beverage vessel

with a hinged lid that could be operated with the thumb so somebody could prevent

infection and still be able to drink with their free hand. As citizens began to learn the

plague spread in unsanitary conditions with stagnant water, beer drinking rose

exponentially. German beer steins were originally made of stoneware with pewter lids.

German beer steins started to be made completely of pewter for nearly three-hundred years

as the pewter guild became more powerful. Eventually, porcelain and silver steins were

introduced and are still produced in the present.

More than 5000 brands of beer are produced today from more than 1350 breweries within

Germany's borders. The oldest beer maker in the world that continues operation today is

the Benedictine abbey Weihenstephan, that has been making beer since one-thousand and

forty. The Franconia region of Bavaria by the city Bamberg is the most concentrated area

for breweries in Germany. Most beers can be placed by ales and lagers but German

breweries produce a large variety of tastes. The majority of beers have an alcoholic

content from 4.7% to 5.4% but some types can be as high as 12%, making them more

powerful than a lot of wines.

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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