Liquid Bread
Otherwise known as German beer
On many German beers sold in Germany, you will find a statement that it was brewed according to the German Purity Law of 1516 (das deutsche Reinheitsgebot von 1516). Oops, I meant Bavarian Purity Law. In 1516, there was no Germany, but numerous independent states. Many Bavarians have explained to me that it should say Bavarian, not German. Bavarian beers of course have this, but others still write German Purity Law.
So what is this law? It dictates that beer is to be made only from water, malt, hops and yeast. Over the centuries, these rules/laws have stayed in place though over the past couple of decades, producers from other EU and non-EU countries have managed to get some of the laws weakened so they can produce “beer” that has additional ingredients.
Many German beermakers, and Germans, were naturally horrified.
This is a controversial topic.
I still find it fascinating how so many cities/regions have their local beers, for which people will argue for hours or days that theirs is the best (even if their local beer isn’t that great, they will still defend it). Some of the local beers you can find in stores in other regions. Of course, some of these local brewers have been bought by conglomerates.
