How Tradition Meets Change
Over the past 75 years, Berlin has undergone tremendous political and social change. The city that was once decimated by WWII and then divided by the Cold War and the Berlin Wall, has unified into a booming and fertile ground of possibilities, open to the world.
Today, Berlin is the living definition of tradition and change.
German heritage now faces the new, the foreign and the different. Beer, Germany’s distinct cultural symbol, is a definite example. The mere fact that a French Canadian now living in this inspiring city is writing about beer history in Berlin, says it all.
In conversation with Marc-Oliver Huhnholz, press spokesman for the German Brewing Association, I take a closer look at the historical evolution of Berlin’s beer scene, from East to West and from before the fall of the Wall right up to now. It’s a complex and fascinating story that illustrates how Berlin’s beer traditions are the foundations for new ones to come.
German Beer Culture and its Roots
Beer culture in Germany began thousands of years ago. Although the Germans didn’t invent it, they certainly became very good at making it and consuming it. The monasteries in South Germany were already producing beers for the masses as early as year 1,000.
“It is safe to say that Germany has always been a beer nation,” states Marc-Oliver Huhnholz.
Beer was safer than drinking water at the time. It became increasingly popular especially when the Purity Law came into play, which was established by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria in 1516.
“According to German understanding and on the basis of the Purity Law, beer is a fermented beverage for which only water, malt, hops and yeast may be used,” explains Marc-Oliver. “
The Purity Law stands for the preservation of a time-honoured craft technique and is also considered the oldest, still valide food law in the world today. In Germany, it has developed over centuries into an art of brewing that is respected worldwide.
From just four natural ingredients, over 40 different varieties and around 6,500 individual beer brands are created day after day in over 1,500 German breweries.”
Five hundred years later, this law has become one of the most controversial laws. It is widely interpreted by German nationalists as a law to protect tradition and the integrity of German beer. Today, Berlin’s fertile ground for change is home to growing movements challenging the Bavarian tradition.
Before the Fall of the Berlin Wall
“I grew up in the western part of Berlin,” shares Marc Oliver, “and I remember the wall that enclosed us all. Every time we traveled by land, it always began with checkpoint inspections at the border. We were only allowed to travel on direct highway routes to West Germany.”
Following the mass destruction of World War II, two main breweries in Berlin survived: Berliner Pilsner and Berliner Kindl. These two powerhouses defined two divergent Cold War cultures in East and West. Berliner Kindl was brewed in the West.
“The brand dates back to 1872 and was brewed in Rixdorf (what is known as Neukölln today!),” adds Marc-Oliver.
In fact, Berlin bar and restaurant owners at the time got together with one mission in mind: to create a lager style beer. This is how Berliner Kindl was born - the first bottom fermented pilsner. “Since 1907, the golden boy in the mug symbolises the Berliner Kindl,” explains Marc-Oliver.
In the 1950’s, following Berliner Kindl’s loss of its main brewing facilities to Communist rule, American reconstruction aid and German bank loans ensured the beer’s survival. Oetker Group was another important supporter, which acquired a majority share in the company. By 1972, on its 100th anniversary, Kindl was back to brewing one million hectolitres of beer per year – a record set before the war.
Meanwhile on the other side of the wall, Berliner Pilsner was in place, as a symbol of the GDR. Born in 1902, in a small brewery with a beer garden, it was thereafter nationalized and incorporated in 1969 by the socialists. For many years, Berliner Pilsner was the leading beer brand in East Berlin.
In the 1970’s and all the way through to the 80’s, the German brewing industry boomed. Drinking beer was lucrative. Small rural breweries grew into successful national players on both sides of the wall.
“In 1976, the highest beer consumption per capita was 150.9 litres. Statistically, every German thus drank over 150 litres of beer per year. In reality, there were certainly many people who drank considerably more. Today, per capita consumption is less than 100 litres,” says Marc-Oliver.
I asked Huhnolz what he thinks defines a Berlin beer.
“Berlin's history includes various good beers, but also a very special one, namely the sour beer Berliner Weisse, describes Marc-Oliver. This beer, which was already known as the champagne of the north around 2000 years ago, especially among the French, is currently experiencing a renaissance.
Berliner Weisse is popular with Berliners and tourists alike as a mix beer drink with woodruff and raspberry additives. All in all, Berlin beers are mainly tart pilsner beers, which are drunk in social settings, such as in pubs and restaurants. The quality of the beers has been kept consistently high over many decades.”
After the Fall
When the wall came down and the East and West reunified, various East German breweries faced ruin.
“They were not competitive due to completely outdated technology and a lack of experience. Some were taken over by West German breweries (Berliner Kindl Schultheiss Brewery) and have continued to operate to this day,” says Marc-Oliver.
As was the case for Berliner Pilsner. Although the brand attempted to remain independently run, adopting a new bottle and logo design with the intention of reaching new markets, it has now been part of the Radeberger Group and brewed by the Berliner Kindl Schultheiss Brewery since 2003.
Thanks to the West’s developed technologies and experienced know-how, other beers styles were saved. Such as Schwarzbier:
“(…) which had disappeared from the market in West Germany and continued to be brewed only in Thuringia and Saxony during the years when the Wall was in place. Today, delicious Schwarzbier enriches the German market,” adds Marc-Oliver.
Today
The German brewing industry continued to grow after the fall of the Berlin Wall. However, it faces today different challenges, from consumption habits to foreign influences.
“Today, there are over 1,500 breweries in Germany - around 30 breweries producing more than 1 million hectolitres of beer and a large number of small and micro breweries. With over 6,500 different beer brands and well over 40 beer types today, there is a huge variety.
German beer drinkers thus live in a beer paradise, because they could theoretically drink a different beer every day for almost 18 years without repeating themselves. But today the market has to face completely different challenges, such as the changes in people's consumption and drinking habits, which mean that fewer and fewer alcoholic beverages are being consumed.
The brewing industry is benefiting from this, at least in part, as there are more and more non-alcoholic beers on the German market, and today there are already around 700,” states Marc-Oliver.
Furthermore, in recent years, Germany’s capital has hosted a growing number of craft beers, which are traditionally brewed in independent breweries with non-traditional ingredients for distinctiveness. With its high population of expats, the Berlin market has proven itself ready for it. There is still, however, a tensed disparity which sits between German beer tradition and change.
How to reconcile the historical Purity Law with contemporary alternatives? What does this mean for Berlin’s beer scene? I asked him for his opinion as the spokesperson for the German Brewing Association.
“My colleagues from the German Brewers Association, the representatives of the member companies, and I all see the trend toward craft beers as an enrichment. Many of our member breweries - small, medium, and large operations - are successful in the craft segment, some of them for many years now.
In Germany and Europe, we are at the beginning of a development from which all brewers will benefit. Craft gives breweries the opportunity to focus more on the art of brewing, brewing culture, and beer diversity, to increase the value of beer as a beverage, and to reach new consumer groups” says Marc-Oliver.
Times have definitely changed in Berlin but it is exciting to think of a future that holds tradition as an inspiration for newer ones to be created.
