This is Part 6 of The Story of Beer, our journey through the people, ingredients, discoveries, and traditions that put beer in our glass.

By the Middle Ages, brewing had moved well beyond accidental fermentation.

Beer was becoming a craft.

Recipes improved. Techniques were passed from one generation to another. Regional brewing traditions developed.

And monasteries became particularly important places for keeping brewing knowledge alive.

Brewing Becomes More Organized

Beer had long been brewed domestically, often as what we might now call farmhouse ale.

But as towns grew and trade expanded, brewing increasingly became a commercial activity.

Monasteries also played an important role.

They had agricultural land, grain, organized communities, written records, and the ability to refine techniques over long periods.

They were well suited to brewing.

Hops and the Monasteries

Some of the earliest written European references to hops in brewing come from monastic sources.

Adalhard the Elder mentioned hops in monastery rules around 822 AD.

Hildegard of Bingen discussed hops centuries later.

The Benedictine Weihenstephan brewery in Bavaria traces its history deep into this medieval brewing tradition. Historical records mention hops being grown in the area as early as 768, and the brewery received brewing rights from the City of Freising in 1040.

Beer was becoming an established institution.

Bavaria Makes Some Rules

Then came 1516.

William IV, Duke of Bavaria, enacted what became known as the Reinheitsgebot, often translated as the German Beer Purity Law.

The law limited beer ingredients to water, barley, and hops.

Yeast wasn’t listed because people didn’t yet understand its role in fermentation.

It was working hard anyway, receiving absolutely no credit.

The Reinheitsgebot became one of the most famous regulations in beer history and helped shape German brewing traditions for centuries.

Regional Beer Takes Shape

Different parts of Europe developed distinct brewing traditions based on available ingredients, local preferences, water, climate, and brewing knowledge.

Germany, Belgium, England, and what is now the Czech Republic all developed beer traditions that would eventually influence styles around the world.

Beer was no longer simply beer.

It was becoming many different beers.

Next Pour

All this talk about brewing raises an obvious question.

How does grain and water actually become the beer in your glass?

Next, we’re heading into the brewhouse.

Don’t worry. There won’t be a chemistry exam afterward.

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