{"id":4954,"date":"2014-05-28T17:20:31","date_gmt":"2014-05-28T17:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=4954"},"modified":"2017-11-15T14:28:09","modified_gmt":"2017-11-15T14:28:09","slug":"the-reinheitsgebot-whats-the-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-reinheitsgebot-whats-the-story\/","title":{"rendered":"The Reinheitsgebot – what’s the story?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The German Reinheitsgebot <\/em>(Beer Purity Law) is not the oldest food law in the world. There are laws going back more than 3000 years before the Reinheitsgebot <\/em>that concern food. The Law was introduced as a Landesverordnung <\/em>(State Act) in Bavaria, and only in 1918 it was called Reinheitsgebot <\/em>for the first time.<\/p>\n

Mostly, this law in Bavaria is used to refer to the Reinheitsgebot<\/em>, and so will I hereinafter. The Law prescribes that the only ingredients allowed in beer are water, malted barley, and hops. Yeast only became known as an ingredient in the 19th century, as its role in fermentation only became known then. The Reinheitsgebot <\/em>was introduced for the first time in 1487. In 1516 it was adopted in other parts of Bavaria.<\/p>\n

Why are such laws needed? There are several reasons to introduce such laws, and one of the reasons of a law that preceded the Reinheitsgebot <\/em>was a famine. Other grains were needed for other foods, and thus that law only prescribed barley as the allowed ingredient. For the Reinheitsgebot, <\/em>one of the reasons lies in the preservation of the drink. At the time, brewers used all kinds of ingredients to preserve the beer, many of which were not all that healthy. Hops was the way to go, and thus it was introduced as the only allowed ingredient for preserving beer. Another reason was to prevent shortages of wheat and rye, which were reserved only for bakers. This way, bread could stay affordable.<\/p>\n

It expanded to other parts of Germany in 1906 after the German unification in 1871, when Bavaria insisted on introduction of the Law all over the country. This could prevent competition from other kinds of beers, for example popular northern German cherry beer and other special beers. The Reinheitsgebot <\/em>was later included in the Biersteuergesetz<\/em> (Beer Taxation Law). A dispute arose in the 1950s, when the so-called S\u00fc\u00dfbier <\/em>(sweet bier) was allowed in Germany, but in Bavaria. This contained a certain amount of sugar too. That was not allowed in Bavaria, and this ultimately caused upheaval in the State. The brewers negotiated with the Bavarian government that there should be a ban on imports of S\u00fc\u00dfbier<\/em>. They got what they wanted. In the rest of Germany, it was legal to add sugars. However, in the 1960s, Germany as a whole fought to prevent imports from other Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC). The EEC wanted to harmonize the production Laws for beer. The European Court of Justice ruled in 1987 that beers imported into Germany could not be subjected to the Reinheitsgebot<\/em>, because it was seen as a hindrance of the free internal market. However, the laws were still applicable for German beers.<\/p>\n

Today, there are still strict laws for the production of bottom-fermented beers, which are regulated in the 2005 Bierverordnung <\/em>(Beer Act). Many brewers still claim to follow the Reinheitsgebot<\/em>. Some because they have to, others because it makes great marketing. Some even claim to follow it, but use wheat instead of barley.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The full text of the\u00a0Reinheitsgebot\u00a0<\/em>of 1516:<\/p>\n

“Wir verordnen, setzen und wollen mit dem Rat unserer Landschaft, dass forthin \u00fcberall im F\u00fcrstentum Bayern sowohl auf dem Lande wie auch in unseren St\u00e4dten und M<\/dfn>\u00e4rkten, die keine besondere Ordnung daf\u00fcr haben, von Michaeli (29. September) bis Georgi (23. April) eine Ma\u00df oder ein Kopf Bier f\u00fcr nicht mehr als einen Pfennig M\u00fcnchener W\u00e4hrung und von Georgi bis Michaeli die Ma\u00df f\u00fcr nicht mehr als zwei Pfennig derselben W\u00e4hrung, der Kopf f\u00fcr nicht mehr als drei Heller (gew\u00f6hnlich ein halber Pfennig) bei Androhung unten angef<\/dfn>\u00fchrter Strafe gegeben und ausgeschenkt werden soll.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wo aber einer nicht M\u00e4rzen sondern anderes Bier brauen oder sonstwie haben w\u00fcrde, soll er es keineswegs h\u00f6her als um einen Pfennig die Ma\u00df ausschenken und verkaufen. Ganz besonders wollen wir, dass forthin allenthalben in unseren St\u00e4dten, M\u00e4rkten und auf dem<\/dfn>Lande zu keinem Bier mehr St\u00fccke als allein Gersten, Hopfen und Wasser verwendet und gebraucht werden sollen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wer diese unsere Androhung wissentlich \u00fcbertritt und nicht einh\u00e4lt, dem soll von seiner Gerichtsobrigkeit zur Strafe dieses Fass Bier, so oft es vorkommt, unnachsichtig weggenommen werden.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wo jedoch ein Gastwirt von einem Bierbr\u00e4u in unseren St\u00e4dten, M\u00e4rkten oder auf dem<\/dfn>Lande einen, zwei oder drei Eimer (enth\u00e4lt etwa\u00a060 Liter)<\/dfn>\u00a0Bier kauft und wieder ausschenkt an das gemeine Bauernvolk, soll ihm allein und sonst niemand erlaubt und unverboten sein<\/dfn>, die Ma\u00df oder den Kopf Bier um einen Heller teurer als oben vorgeschrieben ist, zu geben und auszuschenken.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Auch soll uns als Landesf\u00fcrsten vorbehalten sein<\/dfn>, f\u00fcr den Fall, dass aus Mangel und Verteuerung des Getreides starke Beschwernis entst\u00fcnde, nachdem die Jahrg\u00e4nge auch die Gegend und die Reifezeiten in unserem Land\u00a0<\/dfn>verschieden sind, zum allgemeinen Nutzen Einschr\u00e4nkungen zu verordnen, wie solches am Schluss \u00fcber den Verkauf ausf\u00fchrlich ausgedr\u00fcckt und gesetzt ist.”<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

The German Reinheitsgebot (Beer Purity Law) is not the oldest food law in the world. There are laws going back more than 3000 years before the Reinheitsgebot that concern food. The Law was introduced as a Landesverordnung (State Act) in Bavaria, and only in 1918 it was called Reinheitsgebot for the first time. Mostly, this…<\/p>\n

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