This was published 7 years ago
Germany's beer purity law and eight places to enjoy Bavarian beer
By CHRISTINE RETSCHLAG
Germans have always crafted their own beer.Credit: iStock
Five hundred years ago this year, in April 1516, Germany introduced a Beer Purity Law under which beer can only be made from water, malt and hops. Known as the Reinheitsgebot or "purity order", it was originally brought into effect in Bavaria for health and economic reasons. From a health perspective, it was designed to stop the use of herbs, some of them poisonous, in brewing. Economically, it restricted brewing to barley, so that there was enough wheat and rye in the nation to produce bread.
Germans, it could be argued, were the original hipsters, craft beer makers well before their time. To this day some believe German beer tastes different and cleaner than that produced in the rest of the world due to the restricted ingredients, which force producers to search for only the highest quality water, malt and hops. By comparison Australia, where Captain James Cook is said to have introduced beer to "preserve water", permits additives such as antioxidants, colouring and flavouring agents, foam stabilisers and preservatives.
While Germany's Beer Purity Law was slightly amended at the end of the 19th century to also allow yeast, this strict law, one of the oldest food regulations in the world, still stands today. Here are eight great places to enjoy this pure amber ale in Bavaria, beyond the hallowed halls of Munich.
See also: Photos - Oktoberfest, world's biggest beer festival
1. Maisel's Bier Erlebniswelt
Plonked about a two hours north of Munich in Bayreuth, Maisel's Beer Adventure World holds a place in the Guinness Book of Records for being the most comprehensive beer experience on the planet. Founded in 1887 by the family Maisel, there's more than 100 beers to taste at this brewery and restaurant, 50 retro brewery signs and a collection of 5500 glasses from around the globe. Try the Choco Porter, which tastes like a blend of chocolate and coffee.
2. Brauerei Nikl
This one-man brewery in Pretzfeld may be one of Bavaria's youngest, dating back to 2008, but it still produces 20 different kinds of beer under its distinctive owl labels. Specialising in unfiltered beer, try the dark brews here, which are stored in wooden barrels. Owner Mike Schmitt is happy to take guests on a tour of this intimate operation, which produces 190,000 litres a year.
3. Klosterbrauerei Weissenohe
Brewing beer since this monastery's founding in 1050, this Weissenohe establishment specialises in a range of eclectic ales including classic Franconian drops; blonde beers; craft brews; and the most eye-catching of all – the Cannabis Club. As the name suggests, this drop is actually a shandy made from hemp flowers and which boasts a flowery, citrus, bitter flavour. It is also part of the "five steins hiking path", which connects five breweries in the region.
www.klosterbrauerei-weissenohe.de
4. Abbey Weltenburg
Perched along the dazzling Danube River, county Kelheim is believed to be the destination from which Bavarian beer originated. Abbey Weltenburg is not only the oldest monastery in Bavaria, founded around 600AD by the monks of St Columbanus, but is also home to Barock Dunkel, the oldest dark beer in the world. Drink your fill of this World Beer Cup gold award-winner, and then stay the night at this affordable Abbey whose guesthouse has bright and breezy rooms along the Danube.
5. Organic Brewery Riedenburger Brauhaus
Situated in the spa town of Riedenburg, this brewery is 100 per cent organic and is Germany's only brew house that produces beer using an ancient grain called Emmer which is used in dark beer. Brewing 25 different types of amber ale, including a non-alcoholic drop, water is used from a well that is 100 years old. Beer is also fermented directly in bottles, rather than tanks, to reduce contact with air and to retain taste and an organic monastery nearby supplies the ingredients used in the beer.
6. Gasthaus Schwan
Drive a short distance from Riedenburg's organic brewery to Gasthaus Schwan where the restaurant's owner Sandra Schmid is one of the world's few female beer sommeliers. Schmid takes guests through tastings of ales, lagers and sour beers, before they dine on a Bavarian-Mediterranean buffet dinner. Originally a bakery, dating back to 1620, there's also 10 guest rooms upstairs in this establishment in which Crown Prince Ludwig, Bavaria's king from 1825 to 1848, once stayed.
7. Brauerei Weimar-Ehringsdorf
While technically not in Bavaria but the neighbouring state of Thuringen, the next two beer experiences are well worth a visit for their historical aspects alone. Dating back 176 years, this brewery is situated in Weimar where the German Concentration Camp Buchenwald was built. This brewery was once eight times larger than it is today, when supply areas were defined by the government during Communist times and not by competition. The original family who owned the brewery had it repossessed by the Communists and it was closed after the Berlin Wall fell, and never returned to its original owners. A private owner bought it in 1999 and restarted brewing in 2003.
8. Gasthaus Zum Weissen Schwan
For a historical dining experience with a beer bent, head to this guesthouse, which was a favourite with German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who lived in Weimar. Not only did Goethe eat at this guesthouse, but it's where he housed his visitors as rumour has it that he hated people staying with him. Dine on a creative menu in which beer features in all three courses, including Weimar onion soup, refined with beer and cheese croutons; roast beer with onions and black beer, creamed Savoy cabbage and parsley potatoes; and apple rings in beer pastry with vanilla ice cream.
The writer travelled on a first-class German Rail Pass (5 days within one month) as a guest Rail Europe – www.raileurope.com.au - and The German National Tourist Office – www.germany.travel
See also: 20 must-do experiences for a European summer
See also: 20 reasons to visit Munich
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