Text 25363, 86 rader
Skriven 2012-02-17 15:44:10 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
  Kommentar till text 25360 av Ward Dossche (2:292/854)
Ärende: question after reading conf for several days
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Ward Dossche wrote to Robert Bashe on Friday February 17 2012 at 14:51:

WD> The Rheinheitsgebot is strictly about shutting-out foreign competitors
WD> with good products.

And was introduced in 1516 specifically to prevent Belgian competitors (who
didn't exist then any more than Belgium did) from selling beer in Germany
(which also didn't exist as a country at the time - the law was passed in the
Kingdom of Bavaria). Sure.

Incidentally, "good" is a matter of opinion. But the whole question is moot
because a) the Reinheitsgebot in it's original form hasn't been used in Germany
for many years and variations have been allowed, and b) the EU bosses - our
"Beloved Leaders" - took the position you state above and, quivering with
indignation doubtless brought about by a healthy donation to their personal or
party coffers, declared the Reinheitsgebot non-binding in the EU. Which, as I
said, was the case anyway. Read the Wikepedia article (in German) on this -
it's quite interesting.

WD> One cannot be very specific and picky about ingredients for beer and
WD> then on the other hand define a curry-wurst as proper food.

One can, same as one can define "beer" as any yellowish fizzy water with a
bitter taste and 3-6% alcohol, while at the same time adopting fried potatoes
as a national dish. Notice the dig? ;-)

WD> Having said that, just a few weeks ago I had to direct Dieter Soltau
WD> to a store in Belgium to buy "Leffe Dark". At least one German who
WD> understands "quality".

Matter of taste. They make dark beers in Germany, too, but most people prefer
light ones.

RB>> There was a famous case many years ago where an American brewery was
RB>> taken to task for adding cobalt salts to the "beer" to improve the
RB>> head of foam. Someone drank too much of the stuff and got a nasty
RB>> case of cobalt poisoning. That's what happens when there is no
RB>> "Reinheitsgebot" to protect the beer-drinking public.

WD> Any comments about the additives of German wines?

Some contain a trace of sodium sulfite to slow oxidation (to vinegar), but
that's nothing specific to Germany and certainly has nothing to do with beer.

Otherwise nothing special. I even took part in a wine grape harvest one time
when I was in Heldelberg - back-breaking work, incidentally. The interesting
part was when I wanted to throw away a bunch of grapes that had fallen on the
ground and looked half rotten. The vinyard owner stopped me and told me those
were the best grapes because the sugar content was higher than those on the
vine. Same applies to grapes with a mould on them they term "edele Faeule"
(noble decay). The mold pierces the skin of the grape, which then shrinks due
to evaporation of the water in it, and the sugar content of the juice -
although a reduced amount - is increased. This, I was told, was a particularly
desirable thing.

Can't say anything about wine in other countries, but I assume they're made the
same way.

RB>> Calling German beer "crappy" merely exposes ignorance and jealousy.

WD> I agree, the terminology is not proper and I apollogize for that. But
WD> so many of the German beers are pilsner types, basically it is just
WD> "more of the same". Hardly any variation.

Actually, you can get pretty well anything you want, including Duesseldorfer
Altbier, which is a dark and rather sweet beer, but as mentioned, it's not
widely popular and is an acquired taste. When I first came to Germany, you
couldn't get it outside of the Duesseldorf/Cologne area because (I was told) it
didn't travel well. Apparently that's meanwhile been changed, how I don't know,
but nowadays you can buy it anywhere.

Just to change the subject slightly, one thing that surprises me is that you
can now get "Federweissen" (half-fermented grape juice before complete
transformation to wine) in season (around August to October) even in Datteln.
It's bottled in southern Germany. This used to be available _only_ in the
wine-growing areas (I first had it in Heidelberg) because it really didn't keep
well - the bottles were never corked because the fermentation continued in the
bottle and pressure from the CO2 could build up. I assume they figured out a
way to eliminate the yeast completely and stop fermentation in order to bottle
and transport the stuff (perhaps microfiltration), but it still doesn't keep
long. Have to drink it inside of a week or two or it will go bad on you.

Cheers, Bob

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