No question: beer is part of German culture! And because German beer is also popular abroad, the drink can probably also be counted as a world cultural heritage. This not only includes buildings such as the Cologne Cathedral, the Maulbronn Monastery or the Holstentor, since 2008 Unesco has also been compiling a list of intangible cultural heritage. On it is the Argentine tango, Chinese calligraphy or Mediterranean cuisine.
Germany, on the other hand, is only represented there seven times, including with the cooperative, falconry and organ building. What is missing there is German beer. Even Belgian beer brewing has already been included in the canon. That needs to be remedied urgently.
1. Germany is the region with the highest concentration of breweries in the world: more than 200 breweries bustle about in the administrative district of Upper Franconia. That’s more breweries than any federal state in Germany and than most countries in Europe. This diversity is worth protecting.
2. Almost nowhere in the world is beer as cheap as it is here. This was the result of an international price comparison of beers in 40 cities worldwide.
3. After decades of pilsner monoculture, Germany has woken up and developed a dynamic craft beer scene. Sure, we’re decades behind the USA, but nowhere else is the scene as exciting as it is here.
4. Beer is so ingrained in our culture that the drink has left a lasting mark on language: When something is hopeless, we say, “Hop and malt are lost.” If we don’t get rid of something, then we offer something “like sour beer”. And if someone doesn’t feel responsible, they say: “That’s not my beer.” It wouldn’t occur to an Englishman who says: “Not my cup of tea.”
5. German master brewers stimulate beer culture all over the world. And has been for centuries. The first Pilsner came from Bohemia, but because Pilsner beer had a bad reputation at the time, a Bavarian master brewer named Josef Groll had to fix it and brew the first Pilsner in 1842. Numerous German master brewers were also involved in the craft beer boom in the USA and Canada, and they also brought many German beer recipes to the New World.
6. Beer has shaped the political culture in this country for decades. The rule of thumb used to apply to Bavarian prime ministers: 0.1 per mille alcohol in the blood corresponds to one percent of votes. So the late Franz Josef Strauss easily got over 50 percent. Even Federal Chancellor Schröder scored points with his closeness to the people, which he demonstrated with the public consumption of beer. Stefan Raab even made a song out of it (“Get me a bottle of beer”). Which brings us to the seventh point:
7. Beer has also shaped the songs in this country. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of songs that celebrate the joy of beer. If you count the songs that were created while enjoying beer, it becomes limitless.
Of course, there are also other immaterial cultural assets worthy of protection, such as bread and skat. But beer is clearly above it: you can drink it with skat. And isn’t it said that beer is liquid bread?
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