One of the various things the German people are renowned for is beer. Beer is a crucial part of their tradition and civilization, with more than thirteen-hundred varied breweries spread across the land. As far as per capita beer consumption, the Germans are only below the Czechs and the Irish. The monks began to experiment with brewing around one-thousand A.D. back in the origin of German history The country's leaders eventually started to legislate the manufacturing of beer as brewing started to be more and more lucrative. The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, or purity standard, was written in 1516 and remains the most famous and significant aspect to effect German brewing.

The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot was authorized by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria to ensure Bavarian beers were made of high quality. The document states that beers must only consist of barley, hops, and water. Unaltered after almost 500 years, the Reinheitsgebot is the oldest legislation put on drinks on the earth. Yeast is the only inclusion to the list of essential ingredients in the proclamation. Manufacturers in the past before that had just used the yeast found naturally in the air. Bavarian beer makers were soon known as the best makers of beer because of the stringent standard of quality following by the purity requirement. As the reputation of the Bavarian breweries spread around the nation other beer makers started to follow the act also.

As a result of the Reinheitsgebot, German brews have a long-standing reputation of making quality beers made from only the purest ingredients. As time passed and Germany began to ship out beer, many towns became famed brewing spots. By fifteen-hundred, Scandinavia, Holland, England, and as far as India generally got their beer from one of the 600 breweries in the city of Bremen. A couple of other famous brewing towns were Einbeck and Braunschweig. Because of it's full-bodied taste and right amount of foam the majority of modern-day Germans still choose fabbier, or draft beer, over bottle beer. In an attempt to curtail further outbreaks of the black plague German beer steins came into use around the time the purity standard came out and are still used today.

During the time of the black plague, Germany began a lot of regulations to keep its citizens from becoming ill. Infection would spread as massive amounts of diseased flies flew in people's food and beverages. This led to the stein, a drink container with a closed top that is used with the thumb so a person could stop infection and still be able to drink with their free hand. Beer consumption went up exponentially as people began to realize the disease spread in unsanitary conditions with stale pools of water. German beer steins were originally made of stoneware with pewter lids. As the pewter guild grew, steins began to be made completely of pewter and stayed that way for over 300 years. Eventually, porcelain and silver steins were introduced and continue to be made in the present.

More than five-thousand kinds of beer are manufactured today from over thirteen-hundred and fifty breweries within Germany's lands. The Benedictine abbey Weihenstephan, which has been manufacturing beer since 1040, is reported as the oldest brewery on the earth. The Franconia region of Bavaria near the city Bamberg is the most concentrated region for breweries in Germany. Most beers can be categorized by ales and lagers but German beer makers produce a large variety of flavors. Some brands of beer may have an alcoholic content as much as 12%, making them stronger than most wines even though the majority of beers have an alcoholic content ranging from 4.7% to 5.4%.

About the Author

Michael Usry is a long-time beer lover and contributing author for "Beer Maniac" fanzine in Austin, Tx. He is also a top affiliate at {a href= http://www.beertaps.com}beertaps.com, a website for household draft beer accessories.