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Beer you, beer me, beer us together

Lydia TaylorLydia Taylor
Beer

International Beer Day (Internationale Tag des Bieres) 6th August 2021 

The more beer, the better! Germans love their beer. If you are a beer lover, this is your day to celebrate because this Friday is officially International Beer Day! The day is celebrated around the world annually on the first Friday in August. Begun in 2007 by Jesse Avshalomov, Evan Hamilton, Aaron Araki, Richard Hernandez, Tyler Burton, and Ryland Hale. It has developed into an international food celebration where people gather with friends and celebrate those responsible for brewing and serving beer. The core aim of  International Beer Day is to unite the world by celebrating beers from all nations and cultures together.

Now, why do we (Germans, especially Franconians) celebrate this day? Quite simply: beer is not just a drink; it’s a culture, if not to say a lifestyle. It is not for nothing that there are numerous praises for beer in the German language. Moreover, the Bavarian and especially the Franciona region, is known for its beer tradition and diversity. Franconia is home to  almost 300, often family-owned and small breweries, among which 73 are located in the Franconian Switzerland region. This makes it the largest concentration of breweries in the world. From cellar beer (lit. “Kellerbier” or “Zwickl”) to dark beer, light lager beer to smoked beer, and wheat beer to malt beer, the great variety of beers guarantees to offer something for every taste. Unquestionably a must for your beer bucket list is the original Nuremberg red beer – the traditional brew of the city, fermented according to local brewing regulations since the Middle Ages. It’s a particular type of so-called bottom-fermented beer produced with red malt, giving the beer its red colour, which it is named after. Today, you can enjoy the original Nuremberg red beer at the Hausbrauerei Altstadthof. This was the first brewery in 1984 that started to brew this type of beer again. Although other breweries have also begun producing red beer, I consider this is still the best spot in town.  

This particular Franconian beer diversity is currently in acute danger. The ongoing Covid-19 restrictions have had a significant impact on the local beer industry. As bars and restaurants were closed for an extended period and many major events and public festivals where large amounts of beer are usually consumed, e.g. the Nürnberger Frühlingsfest, the Walberlafest, Bergkirchweih, Fränkische Bierfest or the Fürther Kirchweih. Consequently, beer sales dropped to historically low levels and brought many small traditional breweries, often run as a family business, to their knees. However, Franconia is still Europe’s beer stronghold, so the best way to celebrate this day is to support your local brewery, treat yourself to a good Franconian beer, raise your “Seidla”, and say “Prost!”

Franconian Word Alert:  Okay, okay, so what’s a “Seidla”, you may ask? It’s the Franconian word for a small beer (and well, in Franconia, like in the rest of Bavaria, a half litre is a small beer). This term goes back to the Latin word situla, meaning bucket with which the servants scooped water from a well. Obviously, filling quantities varied, and whereas the Bavarian Seidel measured 0.535 litres, the Austrian was only 0.354 litres. Only in modern times did Germans agree upon uniform dimensions for their beverage containers. One of them still popular today is a “Schoppen,” also historical a scoop, measuring between 0.2 and 0.5 litres. The Schoppen itself survives as a unit of wine consumption. BTW you can find out more about the meaning of that word if you check out our Franconian Word of the Month in September.

To celebrate this special day, we have prepared a selection of bars, restaurants and pubs in Nuremberg, guaranteed to have full-bodied beers or selected beverage specialties ready for you to enjoy.

  • Bieramt/Cafe Wanderer
    Beim Tiergärtnertor 2-6
    90403 Nürnberg
    Tel. +49 (0) 162. 39 58 220
    www.cafe-wanderer.de

 

 

 

 

 

  • Kater Murr
    Johannesgasse 14
    90402 Nürnberg
    Tel. +49 (0) 1 51. 1 07 83 629
    www.kater-murr.com

 

 

 

 

 

This article is written using British English.

 

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