Beer Ingredients
The Reinheitsgebot or German Purity Law adopted in 1516, states “the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be barley, hops, and water”. This was later amended to include yeast and malted wheat, but throughout history beer has been the subject of both good and bad additions to beer.
On of the main reasons the German Purity Law was passed in 1516 was because other beer ingredients included poisons and questionable substances. Other scholars have argued that the reason for the law was more political, protect bread production. These academics say that the real reason the law was passed was to make sure there were adequate supplies of both wheat and rye. Both of which happen to be great for bread making.
Without being political, this section of Ask The Beer Guy will focus on any type of beer ingredient imaginable. Whether it is saliva fermented corn beers (chicha) from Peru or adding gruit instead of hops, all is fair here. There is no bias towards “pure” beer, in fact, there are some very bad beers that completely follow the, modified, Reinheitsgebot. Likewise, there are certainly great beers that don’t follow that tradition at all and simply want to make beer that tastes good.
There is an old saying in the beverage world that is modified for beer and it goes something like this, “What is the best beer? Well, the one you like the best.” No prejudice here, just an overview of beer ingredients and how you can use them or not.