The history of beer in the 15th century was a period of slow change. But there were efforts to ensure the quality of beer and ale.

15th Century
•Mothers brewed ale for their children.
•Commercial breweries were established in Switzerland.

1420
German brewers developed the lager method of brewing. Germans liked cold temperature lagers (bottom-fermented).

1472
The use of alcohol in Nigeria almost certainly began long before Europeans arrived. Home-brewed beer from grains were being made.

1487
Munich passed an ordinance prohibiting the use of any ingredients other than barley, hops and water in brewing

1489
Germany’s first brewing guild was founded.

1492
•The Scottish Parliament prohibited any adulteration of beer or wine. The punishment was death.
•Christopher Columbus found New World natives making beer from corn and black birch sap.

1493
•By 1493, the ‘berebrewers’ of London were sufficiently numerous to found their own guild. Over time, beer became as popular in pubs as ale.
•The Duke of Bavaria-Landshut (in German, Bayern-Landshut) decreed that beer could only be made from malt, hops and water. Nothing else could be added.

1495
France recommended that that the only ingredients for brewing should be water, grain and hops. The type of grain was not  specified.

 

Explorations

We’ve looked at the brief history of beer in the 15th century. The story begins to grow as we investigate the History of Beer in the 16th Century.

Books on the History of Beer in the 15th Century.

Bennett, J. Ale, Beer and Brewsters in England: Women’s Work in a Changing World, 1300-1600. NY: Oxford U Press, 1996.

Medieval Brewing. Special topical issue. Avista Forum J., 2012, 21(1/2).

Smith, G. Beer: a History of Suds and Civilization from Mesopotamia to Microbreweries. NY: Avon, 1995.

Unger, R. Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Philadelphia: U Pennsylvania Press March 2007.