hemical basis of yeast and the fermentation process did not come until much later.

Other regulations

The 1516 Bavarian law set the price of beer (depending on the time of year and type
of beer), limited the profits made by innkeepers, and made confiscation the penalty
for making impure beer.
Text

The text (translated) of the 1516 Bavarian law is as follows:

We hereby proclaim and decree, by Authority of our Province, that henceforth in

the Duchy of Bavaria, in the country as well as in the cities and marketplaces, the
following rules apply to the sale of beer:

From Michaelmas to Georgi, the price for one Mass [1,069ml] or one Kopf [bowl-
shaped container for fluids, not quite one Mass], is not to exceed one Pfennig
Munich value, and

From Georgi to Michaelmas, the Mass shall not be sold for more than two Pfennig
of the same value, the Kopf not more than three Heller [Heller usually equals one-
half Pfennig].

If this not be adhered to, the punishment stated below shall be administered.

Should any person brew, or otherwise have, other beer than March beer, it is
not to be sold any higher than one Pfennig per Mass.

Furthermore, we wish to emphasize that in future in all cities, market-towns

and in the country, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be
Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this
ordinance, shall be punished by the Court authorities' confiscating such barrels of
beer, without fail.

Should, however, an innkeeper in the country, city or market-towns buy two or

three pails of beer (containing 60 Mass) and sell it again to the common peasantry,
he alone shall be permitted to charge one Heller more for the Mass or the Kopf,
than mentioned above. Furthermore, should there arise a scarcity and subsequent
price increase of the barley (also considering that the times of harvest differ,
due to location), WE, the Bavarian Duchy, shall have the right to order
curtailments for the good of all concerned.
�?Bavarian Reinheitsgebot of 1516 (emphasis added), Eden, Karl J. (1993).
"History of German Brewing". Zymurgy. 16 (4).

Purpose, significance, and impact

Purpose

The Bavarian order of 1516 was introduced in part to prevent price competition with
bakers for wheat and rye. The restriction of grains to barley was meant to ensure
the availability of affordable bread, as wheat and rye were reserved for use by
bakers.[3] The rule may have also had a protectionist role, as beers from Northern
Germany often contained additives that could not be grown in Bavaria.[4]

Religious conservatism may have also played a role in adoption of the rule in
Bavaria, to suppress the use of plants that were allegedly used in pagan rituals,
such as gruit, henbane, belladonna, or wormwood.[5][6]:?410�411? The rule also
excluded problematic methods of preserving beer, such as soot, stinging nettle and
henbane.[7]
Significance and continuity
While some sources refer to the Bavarian law of 1516 as the first law regulating
food safety,[1] this is inaccurate, as earlier food safety regulations can be
traced back as far as ancient Rome.[8] Similarly, some sources claim that the law
has been essentially unchanged since its adoption, but as early as the mid-1500s
Bavaria began to allow ingredients such as coriander, bay leaf, and wheat.[9][10]
Yeast was also added to modern versions of the law after the discovery of its role
in fermentation.

The Reinheitsgebot remains the most famous law that regulates the brew