A Pail of Ale, Please

At the heart of any self-respecting European brewery is adherence to The Bavarian Purity Law. Written in 1516, this marks one of the very first food regulations in history. Today the actual language of the law is quite arcane, replete with references to times of year called Michaelmas and Georgi, a measurement known as "Kopf," prices in Pfennings and Heller … Even the country in which it was written, Bavaria, no longer exists. Check out this excerpt from the law:

"Should, however, an innkeeper … buy two or three pails of beer (containing 60 Mass) and sell it again to the common peasantry, he alone shall be permitted to charge one Heller more for the Mass of the Kopf."

(Remember having to read Beowulf in high school…?)

A single paragraph, however, has helped shape beer and beer consumption in Europe for almost five centuries:

"…we wish to emphasize that in future in all cities, markets and in the country, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance, shall be punished by the Court authorities' confiscating such barrels of beer, without fail."

Sure, there's no confiscation and such nowadays, but there is bad publicity.

Thanks to the Bavarian Purity Law, European brewers have been able to produce organic beer in modern times. The ingredients are simple and control of the organic content therein is therefore simplified. Today, several brands of European beer rank among the finest organic beer in the world.

Scotland's Border Gold shows how modern adaptation of the Bavarian Purity principle shapes the final product. Border Gold Organic Ale is composed of organically grown Scottish barley and - get this - hops from New Zealand and for such an elegant reason: New Zealand, it turns out, has an absence of pests to hop plants and thus organic hops growing becomes a simple matter. For their efforts, Border Gold has been bestowed with medals at the New Zealand International Beer Competition and the British Bottling Institute Competition. The 6% alcohol by volume level is swell as well.