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Beer to Germany is like celebrity is to the rest of the world; it's a national obsession. There are over 1300 breweries in Germany, which is more than any other country in the world, and the Germans sit third on the current beer consumption per captia world table, losing out only to the ever impressive, and much respected, Czech and Irish drinkers.

German beer has long been regarded as some of the world's best produced brews. It is little wonder that this is the case, considering the tight restrictions under which they brew it. In 1516 the German brewer's of the time created the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, or Bavarian Purity Requirement, which limited what could be used in beer production to only water, hops, and barley-malt. Later, with the discovery of yeast, the agreement was altered to allow this ingredient, and for some of the pilsner type beers, some sugar was also subsequently allowed. But besides these few minor amendments, German beer has remained unchanged in its production methods since the 1500's, making it the world's most purely produced beer, and keeping it entirely chemical free.

In Germany, you do not traditionally buy beer according to brand or brewery, but instead, according to variety and style. The choice is often dictated to you by where in Germany you are at the time, and what brewery is associated with the pub or bar you are drinking at. The two main varieties of German beer are the ales, including the famed German wheat beers, and the lagers, including the ever popular Pilsners from Bavaria.

In regards to ale, the Berliner Weisse is one of the most fascinating styles of German wheat beer, not only for its distinct sour taste, but also because it is usually drunk with the addition of fruit syrup. This has helped it become an unexpected hit amongst the young and trendy Berlin clubbers, especially amongst the women, and has successfully re-birthed beer as, not only a drink for men in pubs, but for both men and women in pubs, bars, and clubs. Yet there is also plenty of tradition and mystique for the beer enthusiasts in Germany. There is the Kolsch wheat beer, a light bodied pale beer that can only be legally brewed in Cologne. Within the same region of the Rhine River there is also the dark amber wheat beer, Altbie, which has a very distinct hoppy and bitter taste to it. Then there is the very famous, strong tasting, and high alcohol concentrated wheat beer, Weizenbock, which comes with anything up to 8% alcohol in it. The Weisenbock is one

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