One of the things that we have to comply with being a brewery is food safety laws. So I figured that in today’s post we will talk about one of the oldest food safety laws in existence, the Reinheitsgebot (Pronounced: rine-heits-kuh-bowt).
The Reinheitsgebot is the German Beer Purity law of 1516. The law was put into effect on April, 23rd of 1516 by the Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm IV. It stated that beer could only be brewed using three ingredients, water, malted barley, and hops.
At the time of the law being enacted yeast was not used in fermentation of beer so it was not included in the original decree, but has since been added to the list of approved ingredients set forth by the Reinheitsgebot. Yeast was added to the list of permitted ingredients in 1906.
The purpose of the law was to prevent price competition between brewers and bakers for wheat and rye. The restriction of grains to just barley was meant to ensure the availability of affordable bread since wheat and rye were reserved for use by bakers.
It was also meant to serve a protectionist style role since beers from Northern Germany could have contained additives that Bavaria did not have the capability to produce. Another possible reason for its enactment was to suppress the use of plants that were used in pagan rituals at the time, including but not limited to gruit, henbane, belladonna, or wormwood. The rule also prevents the use of problematic methods of persevering the beer such as soot, stinging nettle and henbrane.
One misconception about the law though is that it has remained unchanged throughout the years, this is simply not true. Aside from the addition of yeast to the list of ingredients in 1906, brewers as early as the mid 1500’s began using ingredients such as coriander, wheat, and bay leaf in their beers. Even though the law has changed over the years it still strictly forbids the use of extenders such as corn, rice, sorghum and other grains favored by American brewers that give beer a lighter taste and are less expensive to brew with.
Until the mid 20th century, the Reinheitsgebot was somewhat relatively unknown and applied unevenly across Germany. At this time Bavarian brewers began rallying around the Reinheitsgebot to protect themselves from competition during the integration of the European marketplace. Bavaria insisted on the application of the Reinheitsgebot throughout Germany as a precondition of German unification in 1871. This saw a lot of opposition from brewers outside of Bavaria, and imperial law of 1873 taxed the use of other ingredients when used by North German brewers. It was not until 1906 that the law was applied consistently all across Germany.
In 1987 the Reinheitsgebot was not considered law anymore as a result of Germany joining the European Union they were forced to change the law to allow free trade of goods through the European Union (Many brewers outside of Germany saw the Reinheitsgebot as a form of protectionism for German breweries). Since 1993 a new, more liberal German beer law has been in effect.
In recent years with the popularity of craft beer some commentators, German brewers, and German politicians have argued that the restrictions set forth by the Reinheitsgebot have slowed Germany’s adoption of beer trends that are popular in the rest of the world currently. By late 2015, the law had been revised to include other natural occurring ingredients. Although many German brewers still follow the Reinheitsgebot as it is considered to be a part of their national identity and a source of national pride.
As a result of Germany’s consumer preferences, beer advertised as Reinheitsgebot compliant is believed to be a valuable marketing tool for beer. With the explosion of craft beer in America and across the world, there are also quite a few breweries outside of Germany that capitalize on advertising their beer as being Reinheitsgebot compliant. A few examples include Bierstadt Lagerhaus (Denver, Colorado), New Glarus Brewing Company (New Glarus, Wisconsin), Rosenstadt Brewery (Portland, Oregon), Steam Whistle Brewing (Toronto, Ontario), Kloud (Korea), Brewery Becker (Brighton, Michigan), and many more.
Here is the text of the Reinheitsgebot in its entirety:
“We hereby proclaim and decree, by authority of our land, that henceforth everywhere in the Principality of Bavaria, in the country, as well as in our cities and marketplaces that have no such special ordinance for it: From Michaelmas [Sept. 29] until the Feast of St. George [April 23], a mug[1] or one head[2] of beer is not to be dispensed for more than one Munich penny, and from the Feast of St. George to Michaelmas, the liter mug shall not be dispensed for more than two pennies of the same currency, the head for not more than three Heller[3], by threat of the penalties spelled out below.
However, when one brews any beer (other than Märzenbier), it will under no circumstances be dispensed and sold for more than one penny per mug. Furthermore, we especially decree that henceforth in all our towns, marketplaces and the whole of the countryside, that for no beer shall any ingredients other than barley, hops, and water be used and employed. Anyone who knowingly ignores our threat and violates it, shall be punished by the court of his jurisdiction by having said barrel of beer summarily confiscated, each time it happens.
However, if an innkeeper buys one, two, or three pails[4] of beer from a brewery in our towns, marketplaces, or the whole countryside, for resale to the common people, he alone shall be allowed and permitted to sell mugs and heads of beer for one Heller more than prescribed above. Furthermore, We as the Prince of Bavaria reserve the right to ordain appropriate changes to this decree for the public benefit in the event that severe hardship should arise due to shortages and price increases of grains (since the seasons and the region and the harvest times in our land can vary); in that event, the right to adjust the regulations over the sale are explicitly expressed and established.”
So next time you are sitting around drinking a beer that is Reinheitsgebot compliant, you will know the history behind the German Purity Law and why it was enacted, and why many places, to this day, still follow these rules that were set forth over 500 years ago. Prost!
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