Alsfeld intoxicated!Alsfeld celebrates 575 years of brewing rights

In 1414, a brewery in Alsfeld was mentioned in a document for the first time. In an order issued by Landgrave Ludwig, the town council was instructed to determine how much the brewmaster in the town brewhouse was allowed to brew for the citizens.

It is therefore certain that beer had already been brewed in Alsfeld before and that there had been disputes about this. Many citizens probably brewed their beer at home at first. A municipal brewhouse naturally facilitated the brewing process. Now the citizens brought the ingredients to the brewhouse, where the city-appointed brewer then made their beer from it.

The beer was brewed for home consumption and only a small part was sold on. It should not be forgotten that beer in the Middle Ages was an everyday drink, the proverbial liquid bread and has little to do with what we understand by it today.

1989 was the 575th anniversary of the year 1414. The Alsfeld brewery took this as an opportunity to issue a limited series of “traditional steins”. One of the steins shows a view of the marketplace by B. Weber. This view had been created in 1844, so 1994 was the 150th anniversary. Hence the mug’s inscription, which is confusing at first glance. CCRH