Beer perfection

By Jeanine Cardullo, On-Line Forty-Niner

Thursday, October 15, 1998

Oktoberfest is a celebration of many things: the end of the harvest, the advent of fall, the continuation of an age-old tradition. Oktoberfest is also a huge beer-drinking party.

In Munich, Germany, the site of the original Oktoberfest, 5 million liters of beer are consumed at the festival each year, according to the Oktoberfest web site.

While many people in the general population know that German beer enjoys a reputation of fine quality, few may realize the reason why it is considered to be among the best in the world.

Beer dates back to ancient times when monks originally brewed ale as a supplement to their diet during times of fast. Monks considered beer "liquid bread" and would drink up to 5 liters a day, according to the germanbeer web site

As beer became more popular and commercialized, the Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm IV, proclaimed the German Beer Purity Law of 1516 which still holds true today, 472 years later.

The law strictly regulates what can and cannot go into German beer. Ingredients allowed are hops, barley and water. It is a far cry from what German beer brewers originally were using - oak bark, wormwood and henbane. Some of the ingredients were hallucinogen and others were poisonous.

Oktoberfest is not only an event, but it is also a style of beer. Usually a lager of amber-gold color, this beer is created especially for the October holiday.

Other common popular German beers types include: Bock, known for its strength, Diaet pils, which translates to diet beer, Eisbock, the first ice-brewed beer and lager, the simplest and cheapest bottom-fermented beer to produce, according to "The Complete Bartender."