Germany has over 1,250 breweries offering over 5,000 different brands. That’s four times the number of the rest of the EU combined.
Germany also boasts quite a number of the oldest breweries in world dating back to the early 11th century, among the most famous of which are the Weihenstephan brewery in the town of Freising in Bavaria, and the Weltenburg Abbey brewery in Kelkheim on the Danube also in Bavaria.
There is also no shortage of varieties with an array of different types of Lagers, Pilsner, Wheat beers (Weissbier), beers made with Rye (Roggenbier), as well as a large number of real ales (Altbier) and stouts (Schwarzbier/ Dunkel), and some sweet beers like the Berliner Weisse; all of which still have to be brewed to the exacting 1516 beer purity law (Reinheitsgebot) which stated that beer could only include water, hops and barley malt.