Erdinger Weiss Reinheitsgebot?

[nakeddog]

I am drinking an Erdinger Weissbier at the moment and as always, I check out the bottle while I am drinking it. One thing caught my attention.

"Erdinger Weissbier is a traditional Bavarian wheat beer brewed in strict accordance with the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516."

Now I am not an expert by any means, but I do consider myself somewhat knowledgeable of beer and it's brewing processes. However to me, that above line that is printed on this bottle is a complete contradiction. Not only is the above line on there, but also there is a Reinheitsgebot stamp on the front, and the ingredients clearly state wheat is a main ingredient.

So how can they state this? If it is a wheat beer, then it is in direct violation of the beer purity law. In fact wheat was the main reason for this law to come into effect. Does anyone have any input on this?

 

[raestlyn]

Its just an advertisement. Reinheitsgeboten doesn't mention wheat or even malted barley or yeast, so you can't brew a beer that qualify its standards. Yeasts were found in 19th century...

 

[Dkmount721]

Would malted barley just fall under "barley"? I guess what I mean is you can/could brew under the Reinheitsgebot. Spontaneous fermentation coupled with barley and water, and some hops.

 

[GuldTuborg]

I wonder if they still ought to be selling it for a single Pfennig per maß?

 

[BigEd]

Malted wheat is an acceptable ingredient for the Reinheitsgebot. Unmalted wheat, or barley for that matter, is not.

 

[indigi]

Originally it was only barley so that there would be enough wheat available for breadmaking to keep the supply high and the prices low.

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

Malted wheat is an acceptable ingredient for the Reinheitsgebot. Unmalted wheat, or barley for that matter, is not.

Sorry but that doesn't make any sense. The whole point of the law was to keep the Wheat crop for making bread(According to what I have read anyway) Wheat is Wheat whether it is malted or not.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

It's a marketing tactic. Here is a translation of the Reinheitsgebot:

"We hereby proclaim and decree, by Authority of our Province, that henceforth in the Duchy of Bavaria, in the country as well as in the cities and marketplaces, the following rules apply to the sale of beer:
"From Michaelmas to Georgi, the price for one Mass [Bavarian Liter 1,069] or one Kopf [bowl-shaped container for fluids, not quite one Mass], is not to exceed one Pfennig Munich value, and

"From Georgi to Michaelmas, the Mass shall not be sold for more than two Pfennig of the same value, the Kopf not more than three Heller [Heller usually one-half Pfennig].

"If this not be adhered to, the punishment stated below shall be administered.

"Should any person brew, or otherwise have, other beer than March beer, it is not to be sold any higher than one Pfennig per Mass.

"Furthermore, we wish to emphasize that in future in all cities, markets and in the country, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance, shall be punished by the Court authorities' confiscating such barrels of beer, without fail.

"Should, however, an innkeeper in the country, city or markets buy two or three pails of beer (containing 60 Mass) and sell it again to the common peasantry, he alone shall be permitted to charge one Heller more for the Mass of the Kopf, than mentioned above. Furthermore, should there arise a scarcity and subsequent price increase of the barley (also considering that the times of harvest differ, due to location), WE, the Bavarian Duchy, shall have the right to order curtailments for the good of all concerned."

If any brewery claims to adhere to the law, then they are primarily submitting to strict pricing (quite cheap, by today's standards) and a somewhat vague list of ingredients. Clearly, modern breweries cannot produce a profitable (or perhaps not even palatable) beer by adhering to the exact letter of this law.

To split hairs, later versions of the law incorporated yeast and wheat. So, beer brewed in accordance with a "German Purity Law" may include other ingredients. However, the original 1516 law included just the three ingredients quoted above.

You'll find strange and misused wording everywhere in marketing and/or mass media. Just tonight I was drinking New Belgium's 1554. I'd heard it was their version of Schwarzbier, but I thought they marketed it as an ale. So, I looked it up on their website:

Born of a flood and centuries-old Belgian text, 1554 Enlightened Black Ale uses a light lager yeast strain...

Hmm...an ale brewed with lager yeast? Maybe that's what enlightens it...