|
THERE is a stereotypical image of the German: blond hair, megalomaniac, humorless and stiff but very efficient and conscientious.
However, a huge glass, or three, of foaming, icy beer, can bring out an altogether different side of the German - the all singing, all dancing fun loving, laugh a minute version.
Yes, beer can work this miracle. This golden liquid has, for centuries, been an integral part of German society and culture with around 1,300 breweries in the country, more than in any other except the United States (which has 1,500).
The Hofbrauhaus (HB), which dates back to 1589, has long been regarded as the pinnacle of beer culture, not just in Munich but across German.
HB was and still is the only beer supplier to the German royal family. In 1589, Wilhelm V, the Duke of Bavaria (1579-1597), dissatisfied with the beer brewed in Munich at the time, decided to build a brewery. He then recruited the brew master of Geisenfeld Monastery, Heimeran Pongraz, to plan and supervise the construction of Hofbrauhaus (ducal brewery), and to be the first master brewer.
In 1610, an edict that Munich's tavern owners should buy beer from the ducal brewery and serve it not only to members of the ducal household but also to the common folk was issued by Maximilian I, Wilhelm's son and heir. This fired the starting shot for the triumphal march of the beers of Hofbrau Munchen.
Two centuries later in 1810, the first Munich Beer Festival was held. Two years later, the royal brewers started to make a beer especially for the festival - with a deep golden color and a higher alcohol content - and the world-famous "Oktoberfestbier" from Hofbrau Munchen was born.
It wasn't until 1828 that this beer was finally accessible to the public through an order issued by Ludwig I hoping that the "working class and soldiers should also be able to afford a healthy and inexpensive drink."
|
Newspaper Edition
