Deutsches Bier und das Rheinheitsgebot

1
Deutsches Bier unddas Rheinheitsgebot

• Matthew R. Evans (Matthias)
• Basic Spoken German I
• 26APR2007

2
die Rheinheitsgebot

• Rheinheitsgebots literal translation is purity
  requirement.
• Introduced in 1487 but not adopted until 1516.
• Originally introduced to prevent brewers from
  using wheat and rye that could otherwise be used
  in baking.
• Limited the ingredients in beer to water, barley,
  and hops.
• Yeast was not included in the Rheinheitsgebot
  because it had not been discovered yet.

3

• The Rheinheitsgebot prescribed hops as a
  preservative.
• Luckily they replaced medieval preservatives such
  as soot, fly agaric mushrooms (hallucinogenic
  toadstools), and stinging nettles.
• Penalties for violating any aspect resulted in
  the confiscation of all beer involved.
• Bavarians take their beer so seriously that they
  insisted the Rheinheitsgebot be applied across
  Germany as a condition for unification.

4

• Otto von Bismarck, Minister/President of Prussia
  agreed to the Bavarians demands in order to unify
  the German speaking people.
• This upset some portions of the soon-to-be nation
  as many had their own regional varieties of beer
  that violated the strict guidance of the
  Rheinheitsgebot.
• Many unique German beers including Kirschbier
  (cherry beer) and North German Spiced Beer were
  lost to the Rheinheitsgebot.
• One of the few that survived was the typical
  Düsseldorf beer Altbier.

5

• In 1952 the guidelines set-forth in the
  Rheinheitsgebot were adopted by both the West
  German Biersteuergesetz (taxation law), and the
  vorläufiges Biergesetz or provisional beer law.
• In 1987 a European Court of Justice ruling led to
  the Rheinheitsgebot being lifted.
• This meant that any ingredient used in food
  products could also be used in beer.
• Hence, Germans can now enjoy terrible beer like
  Heineken and Corona at the local Kneipe.

6
Deutsche Biere

• Germany has a long brewing tradition and is home
  to more than 1350 breweries producing over 5000
  unique beers.
• Mayerbraü, a little known brand is brewed in
  Oggersheim, Ludwigshafen am Rhein and started
  producing fine beer in 1846.
• Kloster Andechs is a brewery where Benedictine
  monks have been brewing since 1455, predating
  even the Rheinheitsgebot.
• Becks the number one German Import (in the U.S.)
  has been brewing since 1873.

7
Ale Type Beers

• Altbier Typically brewed in the area around
  Düsseldorf, this beer is normally dark amber in
  color with an abundance of hop taste.
• Kölsch A beer found only in the area
  surrounding Köln. Pale and light-bodied this
  beer is served in smaller glasses than I would
  like.
• Weizen This type of beer is available mainly in
  two varieties hefe- and kristall-. Hefeweizen
  is a cloudy pour with an underlying taste that
  has been described as bananas. Kristall is a
  clearer, light-bodied variant that doesnt fill
  as fast as its heavier sibling. Both are brewed
  with wheat and in turn violate the
  Rheinheitsgebot.

VS.
8

• Berliner Weisse A sour, pale, top-fermented
  beer from Berlin. It is custom to drink this
  beer with your choice of syrup, Woodruff or
  Raspberry.
• Leipziger Göse An amber, sour, and
  top-fermented beer brewed in the vicinity of
  Leipzig in former East Germany.

9
Lager Type Beers

• Helles A pale, malty, typically Bavarian beer.
• Schwarzbier Bottom fermented beer with a dark
  color and roasty, chocolaty flavor.
• Pilsener Also known as Pils, this is a pale
  beer with slightly pronounced hop flavor.
• Export Pale and light with a more pronounced
  malt taste than that of Pilsener.

10

• Spezial A pale beer with full-body and
  bitter-sweet slightly hoppy taste.
• Dunkel A dark lager with two varieties sweet
  and malty Munich style and the drier, hoppier
  Franconian brew.
• Rauchbier Normally dark in color, this beer is
  made with smoked malt and is a specialty of the
  Bamberg area of Germany.
• Bock This can refer to any number of bock
  style beers including Bock, Dunkles Bock,
  Eisbock, Maibock, and Doppelbock. Typically dark
  in color with full-body. The exception is
  Maibock which is a lighter colored beer which is
  brewed in Spring.

11
Oktoberfest

• A two week festival held every year in München,
  Bayern.
• Oktoberfest is the worlds largest fair with over
  six million people attending during its
  seventeen or eighteen days.
• The fair is held every year in Theresienweise
  which is often called dWiesen for short.
• The mayor of München opens the fair ever year by
  tapping a keg and proclaiming Ozapft is! which
  is Bavarian dialect for its tapped!
• Märzen is the beer of choice for Oktoberfest
  revelers.

12

• Questions?

13
Sources

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_beer
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinheitsgebot
• http//www.germanbeerinstitute.com/
• http//www.xs4all.nl/patto1ro/gerstats.htm