The German people are renowned for a lot of things; one of them is brewing. Beer is a crucial piece of their legacy and civilization, with more than 1300 various breweries spread across the land. As far as per capita beer consumption, the German people are only behind the Czechs and the Irish. The history of Germanic beer spans back to the origin of the country when monks began to experiment with brewing around 1000 A.D. The country’s leaders eventually began to regulate the production of beer as brewing started to be more and more profitable. The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, or purity standard, came about in fifteen-sixteen and remains the most famous and influential aspect to effect German brewing.
The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot was ordered by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria to ensure that Bavarian beers were only of high quality. Hops, barley, and water are the only ingredients that should go in in beer according to the regulation. The Reinheitsgebot is the oldest legislation placed on beverages 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 essential ingredients. Manufacturers in...