Germany loves its beer – More so, it fetishises its beer purity law, the “Reinheitsgebot”

13. Jan 2025

It’s almost as though the very idea of using something other than hops, yeast, malt and barley is an unspeakable offence to the German beer industry. The purity law, however, is no guarantee of quality; it simply refers to one way of brewing beer – and turns it into an inviolable moral standard, suggesting that anything beyond is somehow “wrong”. Let me tell you as an experienced drinker: that’s complete nonsense. It’s roughly equivalent to saying that you can cook soup only from beef bones, but not chicken bones. Similarly, a good, even exceptional, beer can be brewed with any kind of grain, and the brewer may or may not choose to add herbs or the like for flavour. While that won’t fit the law’s narrow definition, it might still yield something truly unique in its ingredients, origin, and seasonality. 

Beer really is an incredibly versatile and complex drink, if you’re willing to look beyond the major breweries. The same holds true for honey – another food that industrial production likes to strip of its unique character. At Nobelhart & Schmutzig, we’ve spent the last ten years proving that things can be done differently. In collaboration with our long-standing partner producers, we’re all about showing how even everyday ingredients can be truly exciting when top-quality produce meets exceptional craftsmanship and responsible production.

With this in mind, we’ve partnered with brewery Kemker Kultuur and beekeepers beckmann urtracht on a project that breaks with tired conventions, elevating the humble ingredients of beer and honey. The result is Uralt, a unique blend of Aoltbeer (a reinterpretation of the classic Münster sour beer) and beckmann urtracht’s URHONIG honey, now available in a limited edition at Nobelhart & Schmutzig. Uralt means “age old”, and the name is more than appropriate: the beer was brewed in 2021 and matured for two years in wooden barrels, while the URHONIG honey spent three years in the hive for the benefit of the bee colony. That’s highly unusual, as beekeepers usually remove the honeycombs after a mere few weeks and then, essentially, cheat the bees by giving them sugar water. Thanks to this long period of maturation, this special honey boasts nuanced, malty flavours. Afterward, the beer and honey were combined and fermented together in steel tanks for another 9 months.

Worry not – the result is not at all the kind of cloyingly saccharine brew the term “honey beer” might suggest. While the aroma of honey greets you on the nose, the tart, sour character of Aoltbeer takes center stage with the first sip. There’s no sweetness to be found—after all, the sugar has fully transformed into alcohol. But as you swirl the beer in your mouth, a whole new world of flavours unfolds: the rich warmth and complexity of exceptionally matured honey. And that’s just the beginning—there’s so much more to discover.

 

Germany loves its beer – More so, it fetishises its beer purity law, the “Reinheitsgebot”

13. Jan 2025

It’s almost as though the very idea of using something other than hops, yeast, malt and barley is an unspeakable offence to the German beer industry. The purity law, however, is no guarantee of quality; it simply refers to one way of brewing beer – and turns it into an inviolable moral standard, suggesting that anything beyond is somehow “wrong”. Let me tell you as an experienced drinker: that’s complete nonsense. It’s roughly equivalent to saying that you can cook soup only from beef bones, but not chicken bones. Similarly, a good, even exceptional, beer can be brewed with any kind of grain, and the brewer may or may not choose to add herbs or the like for flavour. While that won’t fit the law’s narrow definition, it might still yield something truly unique in its ingredients, origin, and seasonality. 

Beer really is an incredibly versatile and complex drink, if you’re willing to look beyond the major breweries. The same holds true for honey – another food that industrial production likes to strip of its unique character. At Nobelhart & Schmutzig, we’ve spent the last ten years proving that things can be done differently. In collaboration with our long-standing partner producers, we’re all about showing how even everyday ingredients can be truly exciting when top-quality produce meets exceptional craftsmanship and responsible production.

With this in mind, we’ve partnered with brewery Kemker Kultuur and beekeepers beckmann urtracht on a project that breaks with tired conventions, elevating the humble ingredients of beer and honey. The result is Uralt, a unique blend of Aoltbeer (a reinterpretation of the classic Münster sour beer) and beckmann urtracht’s URHONIG honey, now available in a limited edition at Nobelhart & Schmutzig. Uralt means “age old”, and the name is more than appropriate: the beer was brewed in 2021 and matured for two years in wooden barrels, while the URHONIG honey spent three years in the hive for the benefit of the bee colony. That’s highly unusual, as beekeepers usually remove the honeycombs after a mere few weeks and then, essentially, cheat the bees by giving them sugar water. Thanks to this long period of maturation, this special honey boasts nuanced, malty flavours. Afterward, the beer and honey were combined and fermented together in steel tanks for another 9 months.

Worry not – the result is not at all the kind of cloyingly saccharine brew the term “honey beer” might suggest. While the aroma of honey greets you on the nose, the tart, sour character of Aoltbeer takes center stage with the first sip. There’s no sweetness to be found—after all, the sugar has fully transformed into alcohol. But as you swirl the beer in your mouth, a whole new world of flavours unfolds: the rich warmth and complexity of exceptionally matured honey. And that’s just the beginning—there’s so much more to discover.