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    Brewing Process / Purity Law
   
    Everything you need to know about the Bavarian Purity Law, the raw materials and the brewing process.

The Purity Law
The Raw Materials
The Brewing Process

Further information on beer can be found at www.realbeer.com
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The Purity Law  

The Purity Law

In 1516 Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria issued the so-called 'Purity Law', decreeing that from then on beer was only allowed to be brewed from malt, hops and water.

Since then, Spaten has brewed its beers in strict adherence to the Purity Law - quality you can taste.

Take a look at the original Purity Law Decree, ready to download!


Download (PDF file, 728K)
(To download this file, click on 'Download' above with the right button of your mouse, then go to 'Save as'. To open the PDF file you need Acrobat Reader from Adobe. You can download this program free of charge here.)

   
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The Raw Materials

The special quality of our beers is a matter of great concern to us. That is why we only use raw materials of the highest quality to produce our beers.

Malt lends beer its richness of flavour and its colour. Malt for Spaten beers is obtained from barley grown primarily in Bavaria. We pay very close attention to the purity of its strain.

Hops are the 'soul' of beer, lending the beer its distinctive bitter aroma. Our hops are grown in Hallertau situated north of Munich. They, too, are subject to stringent controls.

Yeast supplies the fermentation that gives rise to alcohol and carbon dioxide. Spaten exclusively uses its own purebred strain of yeast.

90 percent of beer is made up of water. The water for our beers comes from our own deep wells and is especially noted for its purity.

   
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The Brewing Process   The Brewing Process


First, the malt is mixed with water to form mash. The mash is gradually heated to convert the granular starch into water-soluble malt sugar.
The wort is then separated from the insoluble components of the mash (the so-called 'trub') in the lauter tun. Once separated, the wort is boiled in the wort copper and the hops are added, or 'pitched'.
The whirlpool separator is where the remaining solids are separated from the wort, which is then chilled to room temperature.
Now yeast is pitched in the wort, turning the malt sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide in the fermenting tanks.
Finally, the yeast is extracted. The beer remains in the aging tanks until it is fully mature.
     
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