And, the legacy of this law continues today – not only in Germany, but also in breweries around the world that look to it as a standard of quality. This official protection of truly illustrates how important beer has been throughout Germany’s history and culture. So, by the power of deduction, you have probably figured out that a lot of German beers are bottom-fermented. The law also stipulates that beers that are not brewed exclusively with barley-malt must be top-fermented (so a wheat beer, for example, must be top-fermented). The 1516 text does not mention yeast as an allowed ingredient, however, since its existence was not yet known.Ĭonsequently, today the list of permitted ingredient has slightly changed to include a wider variety of malted grains, hops, water and yeast.
#German pilsner beer series#
The law is a series of regulations that limited the ingredients used in German beer to water, barley, and hops.
It was adopted in 1516, making it the oldest, currently valid consumer protection law in the world. Reinheitsgebot is also known as the German Beer Purity Law. German beer is so special because of a little thing called Reinheitsgebot.