The Bavarian 'Reinheitsgebot' (Beer Purity Law), proclaimed in 1516 and enforced until 1993. It's famous for being the world's first food safety law to guarantee beer quality, but there was a political agenda hidden behind it. Let’s dive into the background of the Beer Purity Law today.
Wilhelm IV: 'You're telling me we're short on flour because you're making wheat beer? That's army rations, we can't have that. Plus, seeing those church guys making bank on their herb farming is pissing me off. Time for some regulation. From now on, you can only make beer with three things: water, malt, and hops!'
Announcement: 'Listen up, everyone! Wilhelm IV says people have been getting food poisoning lately from beer made with sketchy ingredients. To prevent this, he'll only grant sales permits if you use water, malt, and hops. Also, we've capped sales and revamped the beer tax system, so keep that in mind.'
Peasants: 'Fuck.'
'Fuck, now we can only make bread with wheat... wait, what the?? Why are those guys making wheat beer??'
Response: 'They're a family favored by Wilhelm IV, so they got "special permission" lol. It did succeed in guaranteeing a certain level of quality, but Wilhelm's real intention was securing tax revenue and checking the church's power. Quality was just the surface-level excuse. And time passed until 1860...'
Pasteur: 'Yo, it's your boy Pasteur. Guys, we have a problem with the Beer Purity Law.'
'What's the matter?'
'I discovered something called bacteria. To make beer, you absolutely need this germ called yeast. What are we gonna do about the law now??'
'Uh... *scribble scribble* Beer must be made with water, malt, hops, and yeast—these four things. And time passed again to 1993...'
'Why the hell is a law from 1516 still on the books?? We can't even make craft beer because of this. Repeal it!' Official repeal of the German Beer Purity Law in 1993.
'Hey, but doesn't "Beer Purity Law" sound kinda badass? Let's keep promoting that we follow it. I mean, let's just ignore the dozen or so additives lol.' The law has been gone for a long time and following it doesn't automatically make beer better, but many breweries still use it for marketing. Honestly, it's hard to pass up a beer guaranteed by a Grand Duke.
"Users discuss the hypocritical political origins of the Reinheitsgebot and collectively shut down a troll trying to claim that cheap 'happoshu' (quasi-beer) like Filite is real beer."
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