(German: "

German Reich German ''Reich'' (lit. German Realm, German Empire, from german: Deutsches Reich, ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty ...

beer") is a German beer brewed by Tommy Frenck. It is a

pilsner Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the Bohemian city of Plzeň (german: Pilsen), where the world's first pale lager (now known as Pilsner Urquell) was produced in 1842 by Pilsner Urquell Brewe ...

with a 4.9% alcohol volume. The brand generated controversy for its use of

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

-style imagery.

Design

The beer uses a brown label, which media reports alleged to be a reference to the ''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...

'' (SA, also known as Brownshirts). The logo comprises a

Reichsadler The ' ("Imperial Eagle") is the heraldic eagle, derived from the Roman eagle standard, used by the Holy Roman Emperors and in modern coats of arms of Germany, including those of the Second German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919 ...

eagle and

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

with the name of the beer below it in Gothic script.

History

The beer was originally offered for sale on

Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

websites in January 2020. Frenck said that he came up with the idea after the police enforced an alcohol ban at a neo-Nazi festival at

Vessra Abbey Vessra Abbey (german: Kloster Veßra) was a Premonstratensian monastery in the village also named Kloster Veßra in the district of Hildburghausen, Thuringia, Germany. The monastery was founded in the 1130s by Gotebold II, Count of Henneberg, ...

. In the same year, the beer was sold in a

liquor store A liquor store is a retail shop that predominantly sells prepackaged liquors – typically in bottles – usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence (i ...

in the town of

Bad Bibra Bad Bibra () is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated northwest of Naumburg. It is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") An der Finne. Since July 2009 it has included the former ...

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

, where it sold out. This activity was discovered by the District Chief,

Götz Ulrich Götz or Goetz () is a German name, in origin a hypocorism of ''Gottfried''. It remains in use as a short form of ''Gottfried'', but it has also become a surname. Surnames ;Goetz * Alphonse Goetz (1865-1934), French chess master * Arturo Goetz, Ar ...

, on Holocaust Memorial Day. The beer was being sold at €18.88 a case, which was understood to be Neo-Nazi code with "18" standing for "AH" (

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

) and "88" standing for "

Heil Hitler The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. T ...

." The police were called to investigate because of this Nazi-style imagery. Since the symbols used on the beer label are not banned under the ''

Strafgesetzbuch section 86a The German (StGB; en, Criminal Code, link=no) in section § 86a outlaws "use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations" outside the contexts of "art or science, research or teaching". The law does not name the individual symbols to be o ...

'' and no

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

s appeared, the police ruled that the product was not illegal. The liquor store was an independent

franchisee Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busine ...

of Getränke-Quelle, which ordered the shop not to sell any more and terminated their franchise agreement. Frenck had been selling Deutsches Reichsbräu at his own pub in the meantime. The Scottish brewer

BrewDog BrewDog is a Multinational corporation, multinational brewery and pub chain based in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Ellon, Scotland. With production of over 800,000 hectolitres, BrewDog claims to be the "#1 Craft Brewer in Europe". It was founded in 200 ...

responded to this incident by creating an advert posted on a trailer parked outside Frenck's pub, which proclaimed, "Wenn du nur eine Hautfarbe magst, kannst Du mit mehr als 30 Sorten eh nichts anfangen" ("If you only like one skin colour, you can't do anything with more than 30 varieties anyway").

References

{{Reflist Beer brands of Germany Food and drink introduced in 2020 Neo-Nazism in Germany