In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the brewing right or ''

gruit Gruit (pronounced ; alternatively grut or gruyt) is a herb mixture used for bittering and flavouring beer, popular before the extensive use of hops. The terms gruit and grut ale may also refer to the beverage produced using gruit. Today, howeve ...

right'' was one of the privileges granted by the land owner or territorial ruler. Sometimes this right was linked to a plot or a house, called a " beer court"; sometimes the right was held by a hereditary judge, who might also hold the right to run a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

. This right was first mentioned in a document when Emperor

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. Otto II was ...

granted it to a church in Liege in 974. During the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

, the cities often acquired this right. They tried to enforce it for some distance outside the city gates, which sometimes led to bitter disputes with the people affected. The oldest German brewing regulations were written in

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

in 1155. The last remnants of the brewing

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

were eliminated by the Beer Tax Law of 1918.

References

{{Reflist 974 establishments 970s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1918 disestablishments in Germany History of beer Legal history of Germany Medieval law Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor German beer culture

See also

References