The world's oldest continually valid food and drink regulation. The reason for the law was to assure that valuable
bread cereals would be used for
beer brewing.
The actual Purity Law is a result of the Bavarian
Duke, Wilhelm IV. He instated the law at the Ingolstadt Parliament in 1516. The reason to institute such a law was mainly the quality of "Beers" at that
time. At that
time, spices used were fruits, herbs, weeds such as anis, myrtle, oak leaves, ivy (poisonous), along with the poisonous seeds of herbstzeitlosen, raspberries, elderberry, caraway, lavender, dandelion, bay leaves, balm, mint, nutmeg,
cherry leaves, plums, rose leaves, rosemary, wild rosemary, schluessel flowers, juniper berries, and lemon were normally used for brewing. Thereby, there were certain reasons for these uses. As an example, some ingredients were used as a substitute for hops, others for the intoxicating effect, others to extend the shelf life. It is easy to see that beers at that
time had little to do with what we know today as
beer.