how the famous drink affects law (and law affects beer)

Law affects beer, and beer affects law. The connection between the two is stronger than you might think, as we have illustrated in the recently published book Beer Law.

So as you pour a nice cold one during the summer holidays, here are a few things to think about.

1. Beer was a trigger for civilisation

It is common knowledge that humans transitioned from a “hunter-gatherer” type of life to civilisation and settling down to cultivate wild grains. But why did our ancestors take this life-changing step?

Many have assumed they wanted the grains to bake bread and make porridge. But modern science suggest the harvests would have been inadequate as a reliable food source, and that it was for the production of alcohol in the form of a type of beer that our ancestors became farmers.

So perhaps humankind became civilised by beer? That fact alone may be worth a toast.

2. Once upon a time, beer laws were very, very tough

People have been brewing beer for at least 13,000 years and as it turns out, beer law is also a very old discipline. Nearly 4,000 years ago, the Code of Hammurabi, an ancient Babylonian law from around 1755–1751 BCE, regulated the serving of beer.

For example, if a person selling beer watered down the beer, they could be drowned. This sort of consumer protection law makes the Australian Consumer Law look weak indeed.

3. A little beer money

The most obvious way beer drinkers feel the impact of the law is when it comes time to pay. A healthy (or indeed, unhealthy) portion of the price you pay for you beer goes straight to the government. And this is not a new phenomenon.

Beer consumption has been a relatively stable factor in society for thousands of years. Politicians who have wanted to raise revenue have taxed it. At the same time, those wishing at least a temporary popularity, for example before important elections, have lowered the beer taxes.

Throughout history, beer has been taxed in many different ways. Beer has been taxed when consumed, and also when produced. And the individual ingredients have been taxed. Sometimes this has resulted in brewers changing the styles they brew – a very direct way that law affects beer.

4. Prohibitions and restrictions

Another obvious way in which the law has had an impact on beer is through prohibitions. Luckily, that is not something we have to worry about these days, but it is worth remembering that not everyone is so lucky. Beer, along with other alcohol products, is banned in many Muslim countries. And prohibitions have lasted into modern times in some surprising places – for example, Iceland had a beer ban until March 1 1989.

These days, the harmful effects of excessive drinking are well known. We are used to restrictions on where and when beer may be produced, marketed, and sold. But history shows us that, whether beer is considered healthy or unhealthy has changed over time and in different contexts.

At many different points in history, beer (a product that has been produced by boiling ingredients that contain nutrients and natural antibacterial properties) has been viewed as an essential source of energy. It has historically often been much safer than dirty town water or stronger alternatives like gin.

For example, sailors on the ill-fated Vasa ship that sank in Stockholm’s harbour in 1628 were to be given two to four litres of beer per day. Sounds like a recipe for disaster? Perhaps not, as the beer was weak. It’s also worth noting that at the same time, the nuns at Solberga Abbey in Sweden were given five litres of beer per day.

5. Classic brew or peanut raspberry porter?

Perhaps the most famous beer law in the world is the German (Beer) Purity Law, especially in the version from Bavaria 1516. It prescribes that beer may only contain water, hops and barley.

But what do you get if you combine these three ingredients? Well, not beer – you also need yeast to convert the barley’s sugars into carbonation (fizziness) and alcohol. Perhaps modern day lawmakers can learn from this – it is important to understand the technical realities of what you are trying to regulate.

In any case, brewers, and also beer drinkers, have tended to split into two camps. On the one hand, we have the traditionalists who work to preserve this focus on purity, and on the other we have the pioneers wanting to maximise creativity.

Do you favour a traditional German pils, or do you prefer a peanut raspberry porter?

6. An important part of our culture

Beer is a unique product with an incredible history. It is much more than a just a drink, and beer has shaped our culture in different ways around the world.

Belgian beer tradition, and Czech hop growing have made it onto the UNESCO lists of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and World Heritage respectively.

Many other countries, such as Germany, are also true “beer countries”. But perhaps the Finns take the cake with their concept of Kalsarikänni which has been explained as “getting drunk at home in your underwear without any intention of going out”. Cheers to that!