The History of Beer

Beverage for gods

About the liquid gold

A fermented loaf of bread with intoxicating impact was the antecedent of today's beer.

From a coincidence to an export hit

Beer was created approximately 6000 years ago in Mesopotamia by coincidence when bakers discovered the intoxicating impact of fermented bread. During medieval times beer brewing was especially popular by monks for getting over the long lasting fasting weeks.

With the realisation of international trade routes the German beer export started in the 16th century. The industrial revolution and the invention of the railway made beer to an export hit.

german-beer-berlin-1500x1000
Historical information

The history of beer

The "Day of the German beer" on the 23. of April recalls every year for the passing of the German Purity Law.

6000 years of beer culture

The history of beer started approximately 6000 years ago in Mesopotamia. When working with bread loafs which were fermented, the local Sumerians discovered the starting point of the beer production.

The experiments of inducing the fermentation resulted not in bread but in the drinks for gods and kings. The oldest evidence for beer brewing in Germany are beer amphoras from the 8th century B.C. which were found in the region of Kulmbach.

The German Purity Law

The history of beer as we know it today is inseparably linked to the monastic breweries of the medieval times. However, at that time beer contained ingredients which remind more of a witch’s kitchen: belladonna, opium poppies or henbane.

The Bavarian Herzog Wilhelm IV passed a law at 23.04.1515 to avoid those excesses and secure a consistently high quality which nowadays is labelled as German Purity Law.

german-beer-culture-2000x500