German Beer Drinking – a tradition
Apr 28th, 2009 by apartmentblogger
Beer is a tradition in Germany and a ritual that the Germans can not give up as well as being an integral part of their culture. After the Czechs and the Irish, the Germans are the biggest beer drinkers. The historical importance of German beer comes from a law called “Reinheitsgebot,” which was enacted in 1500 which still remains in force in some German cities today. It prohibited the use of poor quality materials in the production process of this great beverage. Because of the importance to the Germans and their culture, it would be guaranteed an affordable price.
Another concern in Germany in addition to the costs, were the chemicals used in its production. To avoid food poisoning or illness, the law was changed that prevented the use of poor quality ingredients in the making of beer. Initially, the fermentation process to convert the malt into alcohol was seen as an act of witchcraft. It was said that they were witches who made the fermentation process possible, but over time, people saw that the substance that rose to the surface was yeast and that this was the cause of fermentation. However, it was Louis Pasteur who discovered that the real cause of the fermentation were microorganisms which transforms the malt into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
All cities have at least one brewery. The world’s oldest still in operation is the Weihenstephan Abbey, located in the Bavarian town of Freising. In total there are about 1,300 breweries in Germany and a production of over 5,000 brands. Half of the German brewers say it’s a Bavarian.
Thanks to this wide variety, almost every village has its own beer, and sometimes more than one. Being able to list them all would be an impossible task, but here are some of the most famous ones: Pilsner, Maibock, or Helles bock – a springtime beer, Doppelbock and Altbier. Italy, Spain and many other countries also have well known beers, too. Together, all these countries in unison give a broad overview of the German beer culture and how it has developed over the centuries.
The beer festivals are quite popular in several countries. In Germany, a famous one that is visited by many foreigners is the Oktoberfest in Bavaria, one of the most popular festivals in Europe for Germany beer that goes back to the nineteenth century. The main attraction of course, is the beer, along with meat and sausages. There are all sorts of attractions and popular bands and many have the traditional Bavarian costume, which is almost a must for the locals. The festival begins in late September, lasts 16 days, starting with the parade through the city with wagons carrying barrels of beer accompanied by a crowd in a procession to the park. Once there, the mayor officially opens the first barrel with the opening phrase of “O’zapft is!” (“It’s tapped!” in the Austro-Bavarian dialect).
If you like beer you must travel to Berlin. You’ll discover their traditions and their beer, and get to taste all the different types, too! Rent apartments in Berlin, you’ll have fun tasting hundreds of different brews while enjoying cheap and comfortable accommodation.
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[...] If you like beer you must travel to Berlin. You’ll discover their traditions and their beer, and get to taste all the different types, too! Rent apartments in Berlin, you’ll have fun tasting hundreds of different brews while enjoying cheap and comfortable accommodation. via blogonlyapartments.com [...]
Berlin? I don’t think so. People there drink Becks in bottles.
If you like beer, you must travel to Bavaria, of course.
Munich will do for a base station.
I Recently came back from my first trip ever to Germany and since I have been back, I have been doing a lot of bragging!
For instance: I have been bragging about the food and the bakery’s and the service in the restaurants and the cleanliness of the restaurants and the spotless “operating room” clean Bathrooms (where one never has to worry if there will be toilet paper or soap) and how excellent the Highways are and the extraordinary quality of the products produced (Especially the peerless quality of German Batteries) and last but not least, the exceptional quality of German Beer!
Well, as you might expect, people have been getting a little annoyed at this constant flow of “Deauchland Uber Everything!” and so, in an attempt to pigeonhole me into shutting up, I was presented with a flat out “America love it or leave it” proposition, Give us a clear example of why Germany is superior to America!…” and so Here it is:
An independent laboratory presented two glasses of liquid to the German Parliament committee of foods and drugs and said plainly, “In this glass is German Beer and in this Glass is German Piss, Which one do you want to drink?” And without deliberation, a unanimous “We will drink the German beer!”, was exclaimed.
Then, the same situation was presented to the American Committee on food and drugs and the committee chair said, “Now lets take a closer look at this…..I move that we form a sub committee to analyze the various properties, benefits and liabilities of each and reconvene in a month to review the results…….and I propose a budget of 1 million dollars to fund the research necessary to properly analyze this problem.” After 4 weeks and 1 million dollars, the Committee decided to choose beer over Piss.
Then, The independent laboratory presented two new glasses of liquid to the German Parliament committee on Food and drugs and said, “In this Glass is German Beer…and in this Glass there s German beer with one drop of Piss in it, Please choose one.” And the Committee immediately resounded in Unison, “Pure German Beer!”…
When the Identical situation was Presented to the American Committee for Food and Drugs they said, “Well, this is something new! Beer with a drop of Piss in it! We need to analyze this to see if a drop of piss in the beer is harmful or beneficial or doesn’t effect you enough to worry about it.”
And so, 4 weeks (and another Million Dollars) later the committee decided that Pure German Beer was not only not harmful to the public but presented certain benefits….and that Pure German Beer with a Drop of Piss in it was not necessarily harmful to the Public….. but that only Pure German Beer (Without any piss) would be allowed in the Congress chambers!
Now, you might think this is a story of fiction, but in reality, if you replace the word “beer” with “whiskey”, you will find it to be absolutely true and that Whiskey with Piss (Or anything else) in it, is not allowed in the American Congress, only Bourbon……and that Nothing, (AND I MEAN NOTHING) with piss in it (or anything else), is allowed in any consumable product in Germany, at all!
So, why is it that the Germans have this extraordinary ability to fathom excellence without having to think about it so much??? Well, they have been making excellent decisions like this for centuries and so by now it just comes natural. While we are still talking about wind power and solar power and hyper mileage vehicles, they looked at these things and instead of analyzing it to death, just nod in the affirmative with typical German excellence and go ahead and just do it!
Now, that is why I say, “Germany over everything!”
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I a planning to Berlin can u give me address for stay, Girl and beer bottle.