Beer in the Early Modern Period

The end of the Middle Ages gave way to the Modern Age, which meant that beer was no longer an exclusive attribute of the Church. Laypeople also brewed beer. Moreover, the French Revolution of 1789 affected abbey beers, as it brought anticlericalism, the confiscation of monasteries, and the flight of monks.

It was also in the Modern Age that legislation around beer production began. Perhaps the best‑known regulation is the 1516 Purity Law, by which William IV standardized brewing based on three ingredients: water, barley malt, and hops. With the gradual disappearance of feudal power in favor of the bourgeoisie, we also see the first artisans and, with them, guild associations. The first brewers’ guilds, such as the Brewers’ House of Brussels, were born in the Modern Age and imposed their own rules.

This is also when the legend of Gambrinus is born. There are different versions of this character. Most agree that he was a king, or at least a nobleman. The most romantic of the stories holds that Gambrinus was a humble violinist who, unable to win over his beloved, decides to make a pact with the devil. However, the devil tells him that love is the one thing beyond his control, but that he can help him forget love in exchange for his soul. The devil helps Gambrinus brew beer, and then he no longer remembers his beloved. When Gambrinus dies, the devil finds only a barrel of beer.

One of the great brewing advances of the Modern Age may well be the discovery of bottom fermentation and lager beers as a result. In Munich, beers matured in ice-cold caves, so the fermentation of the beer was slower and stretched out over time. These cold cellars where beer was stored during the warm months gave rise to the term that in Spanish we interpret as “lagar”. The result is a clearer beer that later conquered the globe.

It was in the Modern Age that the use of hops as a beer additive became widespread in Europe. In fact, in the 18th century the British Parliament decreed that hops would be the only ingredient allowed to bitter beer.

If we focus on the Iberian Peninsula, Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire ordered breweries to be built and brought brewmasters with him so he could enjoy European beer. Far from leading to the spread of this drink, the truth is that beer consumption was exclusive to the royal court.

As we can see, the Modern Age was a period of change for beer in Europe, when it became established in most territories as a beverage much closer to what we drink today.