One nation, many beers – Prost!

Beer has always been and will always be a major topic for us Germans. Last year, 98.3 million hectoliters of beer were consumed — an average of 109.6 liters per person.

Beer unites and at the same time divides the nation. The one question you will get a unanimous reply from most Germans is “Whose beer is best?” “Ours,” they will say. And funny enough, quite a few foreigners agree — apart from some Belgians and Australians perhaps. On the other hand, if you dig into the question “Which German beer is best?” there you are. The nation lapses back into pre-federal times, it’s South against North, East against West.

In fact, some aficionados would even say: Tell me what you drink and I’ll tell you who you are!

Now, let’s find out why German beer has such a good reputation. International brew master Guido Thomas took care of beer in Vail, Colo., and even brewed for His Royal Highness, the Prince of Bavaria.

“First of all,” Mr. Thomas said, “the brewing business started early here in Germany.”

In the year 766, an official document confirms the delivery of beer to a monastery in Geisingen.

“We owe it to hungry monks that beer was invented,” Mr. Thomas said. “As alcohol was forbidden during Lent season, they developed what they called ‘liquid food’ — a term still used in Bavaria.

Therefore, monasteries were the earliest producers of beer, predominantly in the south of Germany.”

Some names of these breweries have still remained until now, like Paulaner or Franziskaner. Soon, the “juice of the barley” became so popular that production sites developed all over the country.

But to make sure that what’s called beer really is beer, the Bavarian duke Wilhelm IV signed a law in 1516 that is still more or less valid today in Germany. It’s the so-called “Reinheitsgebot,” or the law of purity, which states that only water, hops and barley may be used for brewing.

By the way, the “Gerstensaft,” or malt juice, was such an emotional topic that in 1888, after a small price increase, angry crowds literally took several Munich pubs apart, an event called the “Salvator-Battle.”

It is not surprising to find that Salvator happens to be a strong beer, because of its high percentage of alcohol.

Coming back to the quality question. Experts claim it is this law of purity that makes German beer so special.

“It really boils down to the fact that we use no additives, no other ingredients and no chemical tricks,” said Mr. Thomas, who currently takes care of the quality of the Hochdorfer Kronen brewery.

So much for an answer that unites us Germans. But which beer should you drink?
Only to wine drinkers is beer just beer. Just talking about the different sorts of beer could fill a book.

There are more than 1,300 breweries in Germany, likewise innumerable types and variations of beer. Berliner Weiße is a sour wheat beer from the German capital Berlin that’s usually flavoured with raspberry syrup that often comes with a straw.
The Pilsner on the contrary is found everywhere and comes straight from the bottle. Gose is from the east of Germany and calls for caraway or red currants juice.

Kölsch is exclusively brewed in Cologne and served in small slim 0.2-liter glasses — absolutely frowned upon by the lovers of South German wheat beer that needs to be drunk from a tall 0.5-liter glass.

Rauchbeer — a smoked beer — is a speciality of Bamberg in Frankonia and it goes on with the innumerable regional specialties like Bockbeer, Eisbock or Roggenbier, to name a few.

It’s a science indeed but also a matter of local pride. The Bavarians call themselves the beer people, and there would be no Octoberfest without Munich breweries like Paulaner or Hacker-Pschorr. Having a wheat beer in a summertime beer garden combines the love of tradition with the joy of living. Then again, even in Frankonia — a region that technically belongs to Bavaria though you should never call them Bavarians — people pride themselves in having more breweries per inhabitants than any other region of Germany. Their strong Bockbier always makes a lasting impression on visitors.

To enjoy nothing but a Kölsch is a patriotic duty for those from Cologne, whereas up in the northern regions it’s the Flensburger Pils, for example, with its unique “plop” noise when opened that stands for a relaxed personality.

Having mentioned just a few, it becomes obvious that the local beer represents the local folks, which is why there’s no real winner.

It’s all up to your own taste. Find out for yourself and have a nice Saturday, which is the Day of German Beer. Prost!

For a guided tour of a brewery call 06302 912-144 or e-mail heinze@bischoff-bier.de. The tour takes approximately 1 hour and is  followed by another hour of beer tasting.

Tours take place at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Thursdays at the Privatbrauerei Bischoff, An den Hopfengärten 6, 67722 Winnweiler.