GERMAN BEER

Although Germany can’t be credited with actually inventing beer, the country has an incredibly historic brewing tradition, including being able to claim the world’s oldest still-operating brewery, Weihenstephan, which first fired up the mash tun in 1040. (If you ever get asked about that in a pub quiz, you’re welcome!) Most German breweries still abide by the terms of the Reinheitsgebot, a centuries-old purity law stating that beer can only be made using barley, clean water, and hops (the law preceded our understanding of the role of yeast), and because of this you could be forgiven for assuming that all German beer must be very similar. However, German beer includes tremendous diversity, from the crisp and bitter Pilsner to the fruity Kolsch and the meaty, smoked Rauchbier.