BEER SINCE FOREVER 3

In the Middle Ages, beer became the drink of kings, dukes, counts… The first monastic breweries emerged, followed soon after by large-scale production facilities evolving from smaller artisanal breweries. Beer was becoming an increasingly fashionable drink.

In the time of Charlemagne (742–814), every court had its own brewery. In the codex of those times, brewers were classified as artisans and workers subject to public administration.

A great lover of beer was also the Duke of Brabant, Jan Primus, who is today mostly known as the king of beer under the name Gambrinus.

FIG. 1: Work in a medieval brewery. Beer was mainly brewed in monasteries and convents at that time. There were also a few municipal breweries.

The largest brewing city of the Middle Ages was Hamburg. In 1376, more than a thousand people in this German city held the qualifications and rights to brew beer.

The Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm IV. (1493–1550) issued a law stating: “I decree that in the land of Bavaria, in cities, market towns, and villages, only barley, hops, water, and yeast may be used for brewing beer, and nothing else.”

The true boom in beer production began with the Industrial Revolution. The invention of the steam engine, refrigeration systems, and above all, modern brewing methods gave the development of this drink new momentum and secured it a special position in the world of beverages, which it undoubtedly deserves.

FIG. 2: Work in an artisanal brewery.