There is usually a secret behind an exceptionally good drink. Or better yet, someone is keeping it a secret. You wouldn’t want to say that Cola tastes exceptionally good, but its inventors built a special safe in which they store their recipe. And what exactly is that pinch of “No, I won’t say” that makes grandma’s elderflower soda so irresistible? Beer brewers are also known to be very secretive.
Recently one of them closed his little notebook in disgust when someone dared to take a look at his brewing notes. “That’s my recipe!” he shouted and jumped back twice so that his book wouldn’t be snatched away from him. This is what happened in a small communal brewery in the Upper Palatinate, but even the big ones are no more willing to provide information. People have often wondered what makes this organic beer from the Altmühltal so excellent. Now we could be a little closer to the secret, because a trial in Regensburg has just revealed what else was stored in the brewery besides hops and malt.
On the witness stand, a food inspector reported “extreme pest infestation.” Even from the outside they could see dead insects lying on the ground, flour beetles and moths crawling out of the mill: “There really wasn’t a place where we didn’t find any.” The man has seen a lot, but rarely such a hustle and bustle.
The master brewer in charge correctly stated: “Something went wrong.” And cited all sorts of reasons: too few employees, heavy rain, an old building used as a brewery. The first court he appeared before, in Kelheim, was not convinced. He was fined 11,400 euros. The regional court in Regensburg, which he then appealed to, was a little more lenient. He now only has to pay 5,700 euros.
Beetles and moths – and this brings us back to the secret recipe – did not come into contact with the beer. So again, you don’t know why this beer tastes the way it does: good. Actually. It will be a secret. And given what we know now, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.