Beer · Explainer
What is the Reinheitsgebot?
The Reinheitsgebot is a Bavarian ordinance of 23 April 1516, adopted at the Landtag in Ingolstadt under the dukes Wilhelm IV and Ludwig X. It stated that nothing other than barley, hops and water might be used for beer. Yeast is not mentioned in that text. Today the rule lives on in the German Vorlaeufiges Biergesetz.
In brief
The key figures
| Date | 23 April 1516, Landtag in Ingolstadt |
|---|---|
| Issued by | The Bavarian dukes Wilhelm IV and Ludwig X |
| Permitted raw materials in 1516 | Barley, hops and water |
| Yeast | Does not appear in the text of 1516 |
| Originally also | Price regulation with maximum prices for winter and summer beer |
| Current German law | Vorlaeufiges Biergesetz, section 9 |
| Bottom-fermented beer | Barley malt, hops, yeast and water |
| Top-fermented beer | Also other malt and pure cane, beet, invert or starch sugar |
What did the text of 1516 literally say?
Only barley, hops and water. The ordinance stipulates that zu kainem Pier merer Stuckh dann allain Gersten, Hopffen und Wasser genomen und gepraucht soelle werden.
The text was part of the Bavarian state ordinance adopted in April 1516 at the state assembly in Ingolstadt, under Dukes Wilhelm IV and Ludwig X.
Moreover, it was not only about raw materials. The regulation also set maximum prices for winter and summer beer.
Why isn't yeast in the Reinheitsgebot?
Yeast does not appear in the text of 1516. Only later Bavarian regulations named four raw materials; the Malzaufschlagsgesetz of 1910 spoke of Malz, Hopfen, Hefe und Wasser.
The four raw materials that belong to the Reinheitsgebot today, malt, hops, yeast and water, therefore only appear in later German legislation.
The original text moreover names barley and not barley malt. That too was tightened later.
Which law applies in Germany today?
In Germany the Vorlaeufiges Biergesetz applies. Paragraph 9 stipulates for bottom-fermented beer that nur Gerstenmalz, Hopfen, Hefe und Wasser verwendet werden mag.
For top-fermented beer the rule is more generous. The law there also allows the Verwendung von anderem Malz and the Verwendung von technisch reinem Rohr-, Rueben- oder Invertzucker sowie von Staerkezucker.
Wheat malt, spelt malt and rye malt can therefore be in a top-fermented German beer, and sugar may be brewed along. In a bottom-fermented pils neither is allowed.
What may not be in beer under the Reinheitsgebot?
Everything outside the list in paragraph 9 is excluded. For bottom-fermented German beer that means no rice, no maize, no herbs and no fruit.
With top-fermented beer there is room for colourings: colourings made from the sugars named in the law are permitted.
A German brewer who wants to work with fruit or herbs thereby falls outside what paragraph 9 describes as Bier.
Does the Reinheitsgebot apply throughout the European Union?
No. The Vorlaeufiges Biergesetz is German law and applies to beer brewed in Germany. Belgian, Czech or Dutch brewers are not bound by it.
The Wissenschaftliche Dienste of the German Bundestag summarised it like this: beer made in Germany may only be sold as Bier if it complies with the Vorlaeufiges Biergesetz. For beer from other EU countries this restriction does not apply.
A Belgian witbier with coriander and orange peel is simply available in Germany and is also called beer there.
From the shop in Bathmen
German beer in the shop in Bathmen
The shop in Bathmen stocks 41 German beers from 16 different brands. The alcohol percentage ranges from 4.8% to 10.5%.
- Ayinger Bräuweisse 5.1% · 50 cl · Germany
- Benediktiner Weissbier 5.4% · 50 cl · Germany
- Benediktiner Weissbier Krat 20x50cl. 5.4% · Germany
- Benediktiner Weizenbier fust 15 L 5.4% · 1500 cl · Germany
- Benediktiner Weizenbier fust 30 L 5.4% · 3000 cl · Germany
- Bitburger Drive Alcoholvrij 0.0 30 cl · Germany
- Bitburger pils fles 33cl. 4.8% · 33 cl · Germany
- Bitburger pils krat 20x33cl. 4.8% · 792 cl · Germany
- Clausthaler Alcoholvrij 33 cl · Germany
- Erdinger Alcoholfrei 50 cl · Germany
Related questions
What is the difference between dubbel, tripel and quadrupel?What is the difference between a blond beer and a tripel?What is the difference between an IPA and a NEIPA?
Short answer
Short answers to related questions
- When was the Reinheitsgebot introduced?
- On 23 April 1516, at the diet in Ingolstadt, as part of the Bavarian land ordinance.
- Which raw materials may be used in beer according to German law?
- Paragraph 9 names barley malt, hops, yeast and water for bottom-fermented beer. For top-fermented beer, other malt and sugar may also be used.
- Was the Reinheitsgebot only a quality rule?
- No. The 1516 ordinance also laid down maximum prices for winter and summer beer.
- May Belgian or Dutch beer be called beer in Germany?
- Yes. The Vorlaeufiges Biergesetz applies to beer brewed in Germany; beer from other EU countries is not covered by it.
The reasoning
Sources
- Reinheitsgebot: Wortlaut, Deutscher Brauer-Bund (accessed 4 September 2026)
- Reinheitsgebot, 1516, Historisches Lexikon Bayerns (accessed 4 September 2026)
- Vorgaben fuer das Selbstbrauen und Vermarkten von Bier, WD 5-3000-142/20, Wissenschaftliche Dienste, Deutscher Bundestag (accessed 4 September 2026)
Deze pagina is geschreven en gecontroleerd door ’t Bockje Bathmen, slijterij aan de Brink 2 in Bathmen. Laatst bijgewerkt op 29 oktober 2026.
Verkoop van alcohol onder de 18 jaar is verboden. NIX18.