You know what’s great? Beer.

Germany is known for many things that I know we are all aware of. One of, if not the most prominent is of course, beer. More so than any other country, in my opinion, beer is most tightly linked to the country’s culture and traditions. Not only that, but German beer is some of the best tasting and highest quality anywhere in the world. Why is this though? What role does beer play in larger German culture? Never fear, for I have the answers. 

Brief History

As I’m sure we all know, beer originated in Mesopotamia. Theories state that beer could’ve been brewed as early as 10,000 BCE in the regions that first developed agriculture. This spread throughout Mesopotamia with the Sumerians and Babalonians often brewing beer and it becoming a divine beverage, a “gift from the gods”. This spread to Egypt which had a similar affection for the drink, often burying beer in the tombs of pharaohs for them to enjoy in the afterlife. From Egypt, beer moved to Greece and then was also adopted by the Romans. This is when we first see beer in Europe. The German people were brewing beer as early as 800 BCE. Quickly after this, their beer was renowned as the most pure and best tasting. Skipping to the renaissance we see the first beer purity law passed by the German government. Reinheitsgebot was passed in 1516 which stated that beer can only contain water, barley, and hops. Later, yeast was added to the acceptable ingredient list. Oktoberfest was first held in 1810 in Munich and is occurring annually today. This is still the largest beer festival in the world. 

Culture

After the beer purity law, beer became even more popular and deeply rooted itself into the culture. Beer was given out to its citizens as a ration daily, and was consumed by even small children. There are many beer festivals in Germany besides Oktoberfest; Karneval, Berliner Festival, Volksfest, and many more! Germans take pride in their local beers, kölsh for example, which can only be brewed in the cologne region. Most other regions in Germany also have their own specialized beers, such as altbier in Dusseldorf and Rauchbier in Bamberg. 

With all of this incredibly fascinating information, I hope that the next time you crack open a cold one, you can appreciate the history of German beer which had such a great impact on world drinking culture. 

Prost,

Ryan D.

References

Cruise, B. (2024, August 6). Where did beer originate from? Brews Cruise. https://www.brewscruise.com/blog/where-did-beer-originate-from/#:~:text=Many%20people%20associate%20the%20well,first%20enjoyed%20in%20ancient%20Mesopotamia.

Subramanian, N. (2024, June 19). What’s Brewing in Germany? Exploring the German Beer Culture. Urban Ground Blogs. https://blog.urbanground.de/exploring-the-world-famous-german-beer-culture/