Smile of the Day Monday, November 30, 2020

Monday November 30, 2020 Smile of the Day: German Beer Purity Law

On this Day:

The first German Beer Purity Law (“Reinheitsgebot”), is promulgated in the duchy of Munich in 1487 by Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria, stating beer should be brewed from only three ingredients – water, malt and hops. 

After Bavaria was reunited, the Munich law was adopted across the entirety of Bavaria on 23 April 1516. As Germany unified, Bavaria pushed for adoption of this law on a national basis.

The text does not mention yeast as an ingredient, although yeast was at the time knowingly used in the brewing process. It is likely that brewers of the time preferred to see yeast as a fixture of the brewing process. Yeast produced in one batch was commonly transferred to a subsequent batch, thus giving yeast a more permanent character in the brewing process. A full understanding of chemical basis of yeast and the fermentation process did not come until much later.

The 1516 Bavarian law also set the price of beer (depending on the time of year and type of beer), limited the profits made by innkeepers, and made confiscation the penalty for making impure beer.

The Bavarian order of 1516 was introduced in part to prevent price competition with bakers for wheat and rye. The restriction of grains to barley was meant to ensure the availability of affordable bread, as wheat and rye were reserved for use by bakers. The rule may have also had a protectionist role, as beers from Northern Germany often contained additives that were not present in Bavarian beer.

Religious conservatism may have also played a role in adoption of the rule in Bavaria, to suppress the use of plants that were allegedly used in pagan rituals, such as gruit, henbane, belladonna, or wormwood. The rule also excluded problematic methods of preserving beer, such as soot, stinging nettle and henbane. (per Wikipedia)

First, a Story:

Why don’t they serve beer at math parties? – Because you shouldn’t drink and derive.

Second, a Song:

There’s “No I in Beer” is a song recorded by American country music artist Brad Paisley. It was released on April 15, 2020 by Arista Nashville. The song was written by Paisley and Kelley Lovelace in 2018. 

Brad said in a statement: “People are utilizing this time to connect and to feel solidarity as human beings,” “This song wasn’t written for this specific moment we are all facing, but it takes on a new meaning for me when I hear it now.” “People are utilizing this time to connect and to feel solidarity as human beings, If we’ve ever felt unified as Americans, as citizens of the world, it’s in the fact that nobody loves what we’re going through, but everybody’s willing to do what we have to do. One of those things is, let’s be a team.”

This music video was premiered on July 30, 2020 and includes people doing various activities on Zoom calls during the COVID-19 isolation. Paisley invited his friends to participate in the project, such as Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Lindsay Ell, Darius Rucker, Brett Kissel, Peyton Manning, and Clayton Kershaw.

The video has people from 39 different countries with 225 fans singing and performing in the song safely from home.  Paisley is known for crashing Zoom parties to celebrate birthdays, cancer free celebrations, happy hours, nurse meetings and other gatherings (per Wikipedia).  Here is Brad Paisley performing there’s “No I in Beer” with a little help from his friends. I hope you enjoy this!

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b323QGBSW3U)

Thought for the Day:

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer.” ― Abraham Lincoln

Have a great day!

© 2020 David J. Bilinsky and Colleen E. Bilinsky