The 500 Year History Of Beer Gardens

April 26, 2015 in Daily Bulletin

Philip Sopher wrote about the history of beer gardens:

  • Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria, in modern day Germany, decreed in 1533 that beer could only be brewed between September and April.
  • This was in part because beer brewed during colder months tasted better.
  • This encouraged breweries to create underground cellars to store beers for the summer.
  • To keep the beers cool they planted trees above the cellars.
  • Soon they placed a layer of gravel and some tables and the areas became popular drinking spots.
  • So popular in fact, that the owners of inns and taverns wanted to ban breweries from directly selling beer to customers as they were taking away too much business.
  • In 1812 the government compromised and said that breweries could continue to sell beer, but they couldn’t serve food.
  • This didn’t prevent patrons from bringing their own food, so beer gardens went on to become a nice place to have picnics.

Read more here.

Source: The Atlantic