One of the many things the German people are renowned for is beer. Beer is an important part of their tradition and civilization, with over 1300 various breweries spanning the country. The Czechs and the Irish are the only ones who outdo the Germans as far as beer drinking per capita. The monks began to experiment with brewing about 1000 A.D. back in the beginning of German history The nation's monarchy eventually began to legislate the manufacturing of beer as brewing started to be more and more profitable. The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, or purity requirement, came about in fifteen-sixteen and is still the most important and influential component to effect German brewing.

The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot was ordered by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria to ensure that Bavarian beers were only of the highest quality. Hops, barley, and water are the only ingredients allowed in beer according to the law. The Reinheitsgebot is the oldest legislation put on food in the world and has not been changed in almost 500 years. The only addition to the act is the adding of yeast to the cache of crucial ingredients. Yeast that was naturally in the air was what brewers in the past used. Because of the tough standard of quality following the purity standard, Bavarian producers were soon known as the superior producers of beer. As the notoriety of the Bavarian breweries spread across the nation other beer makers began to adhere to the act also.

As a result of the Reinheitsgebot, German beers have a long-standing reputation of producing quality beers made from only the purest ingredients. As time passed and Germany started to ship out beer, some cities became famous brewing spots. The town of Bremen had over 600 breweries in it by fifteen-hundred and was the leading exporter of beer to Holland, Scandinavia, England, and as far as India. Two more famed brewing towns were Einbeck and Braunschweig. Because of it's full-bodied taste and perfect amount of foam most modern-day Germans still choose fabbier, or draught beer, over bottled beer. Used still today, German beer steins became popular around the time the purity standard came about in an effort to stop more breakouts of the black plague.

During the time of the bubonic plague, Germany started several laws to keep its people from becoming ill. Disease would spread as massive amounts of infected flies flew in citizen's food and drink. This led to the German beer stein, a beverage vessel with a hinged top that could be operated with the thumb so a person could prevent infection and still be able to drink with their free hand. As people began to learn the plague spread in unclean conditions with stale water, beer consumption went up exponentially. Originally made of stoneware with pewter lids, German beer steins rose in popularity. German beer steins began to be crafted completely of pewter for nearly three-hundred years as the pewter guild grew. Eventually, porcelain and silver German beer steins were introduced and continue to be made in the present.

Today there are over 1350 breweries within Germany's borders that make over 5000 brands of beer. The Benedictine abbey Weihenstephan, which has been producing beer since one-thousand and forty, is reported as the oldest brewery on the earth. The most concentrated area in Germany for breweries is the Franconia region of Bavaria near the city Bamberg. German breweries make a wide range of flavors and types of beer with most of them able to be categorized under ales or lagers. The majority of beers have an alcoholic content from 4.7% to 5.4% but some brands can be as high as 12%, making them more powerful than most wines.