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The beer song “BÄHBÄCHERN” – © Pamapatut
Weißensee in 1434, the town scribe takes a new parchment, picks up a quill and continues working on the Stat Book. The town councillors wanted all town ordinances to be recorded in writing. Everyone who comes to Weißensee on market days should know that raw meat may only be offered for sale on white linen cloth. This is probably the oldest street cleaning statute: “No one should carry or pour out ashes, dung or any other filth in front of his door, unless he wants to carry it away or have it driven away by the hour.” Then in 1434, the tavern rules were also laid down in the Statuta taberna and the scribe wrote the following wording on the parchment: “Ayn sal auch nicht in die bier weder harcz noch keynerleie andere ungefercke dar zcu nicht thun danne hophin, malcz und wasser.” Translated into today’s official German, this means nothing other than: “When brewing beer, one should … nothing other than hops, malt and water (‘hophin malcz und wasser’).” What does this mean for Weißensee?
According to current research, the first purity law for brewing beer, which is still valid today, was written down here. The cradle of the German art of brewing therefore lies in Thuringia. And what could be more natural than to brew a beer in Weißensee in accordance with this purity law. The best place to enjoy the “Weißenseer Ratsbräu” is in the historic ambience of the Ratsbrauerei.
