| "Crisis in German Beer" By Steven Walters A threatening new word made its appearance on the German media stage in the mid- 1990s. Brauereisterben. Dubbed after the term for Germany's dying forests, the word predicted the decline of the nation's breweries. The frothy favorite of thirsty Germans, the beer brewing industry started warning 10 years ago, was heading for a crisis. And they were right. Just released statistics released show that German brewing has dropped to less than 100 million hectoliters of production for the first time since reunification in 1990. (That's less than half of the United States' annual output.) The same study revealed that consumption dropped almost 3 % last year alone, to 101.8 liters per person per year, and that it's down about one-third overall since the previous generation. The number of breweries in the country has also dropped—by about half over the last few decades to around 1,300. (There are nearly 1,700 up and running in the U.S.) The vaunted Weihenstephan brew master degree program in Munich says that the majority of its graduates don't actually become brew masters but instead head for other jobs. Further evidence of brauereisterben is depressingly easy to pile on. Berlin, which sustained some 700 breweries in the early 19th century, now counts only about a dozen firms. Seeing the downward trend highly trained German brew masters are now giving up and heading to the United States to join in their craft beer renanisance. Some Germans blame the downturn on the nation's declining birth rate and aging population. Others say that bored young Germans are abandoning the entire alcoholic genre of beer itself. They're flocking to mixed and energy drinks like Bacardi's Rigo and Austria's amped-up export, Red Bull, whose sales surged 18 percent in Germany during 2010. In Germany beer and wine are legal for 16-year- olds who are buying beverages with higher percentages of alcohol than beer but with enough sugar and juices to completely disguise the taste of alcohol. Some analysts say the move away from beer can partially be laid at the door of intense government campaigns warning citizens of the dangers of drinking and driving and over-consumption. An increased emphasis on healthy lifestyles and fitness has also played a big role. Beer, many now believe, makes you fat . However, the most likely culprit for the brauereisterben is the country's very definition of beer. Germany's brewing industry has, for nearly 500 years now, marched under the banner of the Reinheitsgebot (literally, "purity commandment"). A law enacted in 1516 to control prices and shield the baking industry from supply shortages by excluding rye and wheat from brewing, the Reinheitsgebot stipulated that beer must contain only malted barley, hops, and water (wheat and yeast were written in later). While the Reinheitsgebot was actually overturned in 1987 as an impediment to European free trade, many German companies adhere to it for marketing purposes, especially in Bavaria. When it comes to beer for local consumers it's still the de facto law of the land. Initially, the Reinheitsgebot improved the state of German beer quality immensely and helped make Germany's brewers world famous for quality. Trouble is, the Reinheitsgebot is now working against the very industry it was supposed to preserve. For one, it puts a vice grip on innovation by demonizing flavor- or body-enhancing additions of any kind: oats, ancient grains (such as spelt, millet, and sorghum), spices, herbs, honey, flowers other than hops, and any other natural fermentable starches and sugars. This taboo rules out trying Belgian, French, and New World brewing styles, which often call for refermentation in the bottle with sugar in a manner similar to Champagne. Technically, when the Reinheitsgebot was officially replaced in 1993 by something called the Vorläufiges Deutsches Biergesetz—Provisional Beer Laws—additions of beet sugar, pure cane sugar, and invert sugar were made legal in top-fermenting beers, a category which includes the iconic beer style of hefeweizen. But the industry has almost universally kept up the old purity routine. And while it's feasible to stay within the Reinheitsgebot strictures while trying new combinations and techniques, manybrewers seem to think that following the spirit of the law means the letter of the law. As a result, many modern German brewers shun experimentation. There are only about 20 common styles used for brewing in Germany whereas craft brewers in the United States are working ably in at least 100. Another issue is that the hypnotic marketing force of Reinheitsgebot may make Germans less sophisticated tasters by limiting their perception of what a good beer can be. When asked, many Germans tend to think poorly of beers in a foreign style. German beer brewers have responded by trying to make their products more attractive to young consumers. The brewer's association is doing what they can to help beer makers improve on the drink's stody image. Forums, congresses and conventions on topics ranging from the length of a beer-bottle's neck to improving marketing to highlight the two-year difference in the drinking age between beer and harder drinks are the order of the day. They have an uphill battle ahead. |
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| Brauereisterben- Oh No |
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