BEER TRADITIONS: A few examples.

Having lived a number of years in Germany, and having a fairly good comprehension of the German culture and mentality, including their attitudes toward beer, I am somewhat appalled with this current American obsession tending toward alcoholic abstention.

Last summer I sat alone in a Munich beer-garden, drinking my "Stein" of beer (approximately 34 ounces). Two young men (I would guess about 16 years old) came in, sat at a table nearby, and ordered a "Stein" of beer each. They sat quietly, talked together pleasantly, drank (actually sipped their beer), and clearly enjoyed themselves. When their beer was gone, in about one hour, they got up and left, much as one would leave a restaurant after a fine meal.

Additionally, Germans recommend the consumption of a good dark beer for pregnant women. According to their attitude, the nutritional values in a dark beer fortifies the mother's milk. Another interesting episode. My wife and I were celebrating our marriage with a German couple.

My wife ordered a dark beer, and our friends looked at her inquisitively, eyebrows raised , wondering, subtlety inquiring if she was pregnant. No! Not only pregnant women drink dark beer!

(See also Malt Advocate (v. 5, no. 2, 1996 ) "Gemütlichkeit in Germany: Strange Tales of Beer Drinking in Germany" by Denny Mann.)



Pa's Home Page

Austrian Beer Articles