Braunschweig brewery history

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The history of brewing beer in Braunschweig has a long tradition. The regional art of brewing goes back to the Middle Ages , when there were around 300 breweries in the city that supplied the residents. Beer brewing had already reached a heyday in the Middle Ages , especially thanks to the Braunschweiger Mumme, which was also known beyond the city limits .

The Hofbrauhaus Wolters (Photo: late 19th century)

Middle and Post Middle Ages

At the end of the 15th century, every full citizen residing in the city had the right to brew beer . Some of these citizens only produced beer for their own use, while others began trading the beers from their production as early as the Middle Ages. Soon new citizens were no longer granted this right. Eventually, the general brewing law was replaced by the real law , which was tied to specific houses or properties. The beer brewers enjoyed a high reputation, so that 300 breweries were listed in the city of Braunschweig alone. In addition to the Mumme were more Rotbiere , and later wheat beers or Broyhan brewed.

In each of the 300 breweries only one person was allowed to exercise the right to brew, and no one was allowed to brew in more than one of these houses. However, anyone who had the right to brew was not obliged to brew. The large number of breweries goes hand in hand with the fact that beer was not considered a pure luxury item at that time, but also served as a food that was used in the preparation of many dishes. The public serving of beer was limited to the five Ratskeller and these breweries. Restaurants in the true sense of the word were forbidden. The number of brewers who offered their goods in barrels was small; they supplied the town cellars, Landwehr taverns, village mugs or the aristocratic seats. There were separate units of measurement for production (4  bushels of barley malt per brew) and for serving ( small room , quarters or glass ). Foreign beers that came into the city through merchants could only be sold to the city council, as the city council reserved the right to be served by the landlords in its council cellars. Due to the different ways in which brewing rights were exercised, it was not until 1671, on the ducal initiative, that a brewery guild was formed .

Brewing times

Brewing was initially unlimited and was usually done once a week. Brewing was not permitted in the hot summer months because of the increased risk of fire. In the first half of the 16th century, for example, brewers were given 36 brewing times each, while this number fell to 30 in the second half. In order to get an overview of the use of the brewing rights , at the beginning of a brewing year (November 11th) it had to be specified in the annual brewing regulations to which brewer was allocated brewing times that year. The current prices for barley, hops, wood and wheat for production as well as the resulting beer prices were also set there.

The brewing year was divided into two half-years, winter (from November 11th, 16 brewing times) and summer (from May 1st, 14 brewing times). The winter beer was considered to be more durable, was suitable for shipping and was called Mersch or March beer ( March beer ). The summer beer was called fresh beer (Versch- or Varschbier).

In Braunschweig red beer was originally made from barley, which, depending on the type of brewing, was divided into thin beer (or Covent beer , 10 to 11 kegs ), stronger brewed beer (Matthier beer, 8 kegs) and later strong beer (Mariengroschen beer , thicker and more alcoholic, 4 kegs).

Beer trade

Brewing and trading in beer dominated Braunschweig's economic life around 1600. Braunschweig beer was shipped to the Netherlands (from there also to the overseas territories), to England or to the entire Baltic Sea area. The beer trade, which was not limited to products from the city, continued until the middle of the 17th century, from then on it steadily declined and finally came to a standstill in the first half of the 18th century. The Braunschweiger Mumme, for example, was delivered to Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck in 1645. The decline in trade, which accelerated around 1670/71, was probably due to the fact that the Mummerezept was divulged to English brewers. On the one hand, a ban on imports was considered, on the other hand, the English began to brew their own “mumme” according to the recipe of “a distinguished person from Braunschweig”. In 1671 there were only 13 "brewers with a trade".

National Jürgens Brewery (Photo: around 1885)

In the course of time, competition developed between the Braunschweig brewers and the breweries in the surrounding cities, but also among themselves. The municipal brewing regulations of 1681 had also led to the regulation of the beer trade. The variety and the different strengths of the beers suffered from this in particular. The actual brewing activity was carried out by master brewers and brewmen.

Large breweries in Braunschweig

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Chapter VI: The craft. 1. The food industry. I. The brewery. In: Werner Spieß: History of the city of Braunschweig in the post-Middle Ages. ... 1st half volume, p. 231 ff.
  2. ↑ Braunschweiger Bier braunschweig.de.
  3. ↑ a b Chapter VII: The trade. 2. The Hanseatic domestic trade (the journey overland) in the post-Middle Ages. III. The beer, wine and brandy trade. In: Werner Spieß: History of the city of Braunschweig in the post-Middle Ages. … 2nd half volume, pp. 395–397.