10 things you didn't know about beer in Germany

Germany is least as famous for a penchant for rules as for its beer, so it's no wonder that there are rules for beer across the land. The 500-year-old Purity Law stipulates that the beverage may only contain water, hops, malt and alter yeast. But the law changed in 1987 when the EU said European imports didn't have to adhere. Most brewers in Germany still follow the traditional recipe.

Though the purity law was lifted nearly three decades ago, craft beer has taken off more recently. And taken off it has - especially in Berlin. Admittedly, some of the new brewers are expats. Mixology.eu listed these German craft startups among their favorites last year: Schoppe Bräu, Heidenpeters, Ale Mania, BrauKunstKeller, and Crew Republic.

While Germany produces a third of the world's 15,000 beer varieties and boasts some 1,500 breweries, Germans do not take the gold (or amber?) medal for beer consumption. Germans drink around 110 liters of beer per person per year (that's roughly 300-320 beers), while the Czech Republic takes the lead with 140-150 liters per capita. That country is, after all, home to Pilsner.

Sure, you can get a beer in any pub in Germany - but not any beer. Many pubs offer the local brew plus a pilsener. If you order "ein Bier, bitte," the server won't ask what kind, he or she will just bring you the local stuff. In Munich it's Hefeweizen or "Helles," in Cologne, Kölsch; and in Hamburg, Astra. If you ask for a Kölsch in Munich, hold on to your lederhosen; you could get an icy stare.

Not only is it important to order the right beer in the right city. Each beer variety is assigned a special kind of glass. Kölsch, for example, comes in a slender 200-milliliter glass, while Hefeweizen is drunk out of tall, half-liter glass with a bulge at the top, or the traditional mug. A Pilsner glass looks more like a wine glass with a beer belly.

Most beers in Germany have around 5 percent alcohol content. But in Bavaria, beware! Some weigh in at up to 6 percent there. Considering that Bavarian beer is served in one-liter mugs instead of the 300- or 500-milliliter mugs found elsewhere, the effect is even greater. And beer is part of a traditional Bavarian breakfast!

In a country that long stipulated beer ingredients by law, you'd think everyone would be a purist. But even the most dedicated guzzler will occasionally mix in things unheard of in other countries. The half-beer beverages all have special names. Radler, for example, is beer with fizzy lemonade or Sprite. There are a dozen names for 50/50 beer/cola. And a Russe is half Hefeweizen, half Sprite.

While adding flavored syrup to beer is very common in neighboring Poland, it's practically unheard of in Germany - except in Berlin. The capital dwellers are known for being colorful. There, you can order a Berliner Weisse, a white beer, with either raspberry- or woodruff-flavored syrup. Your beverage, served in a stout, bowl-shaped glass, will be pink or green, respectively.

Unlike like in the United States, it's perfectly legal to drink alcohol in public. So you don't have to hide your beverage when the urge overcomes you to take a swig - anywhere. It's not uncommon to see people drinking beer on the train, particularly groups of young people heading out to a party - or groups of older Germans celebrating a holiday. Rowdiness, of course, is verboten.

Famous for environmental friendliness, Germans are avid recyclers. Nearly every bottle has a deposit and should be turned in rather than thrown away. While plastic bottles are worth 25 cents apiece, glass beer bottles only carry an eight-cent deposit. So you have to drink a lot of beer to make it worth a trip back to the store to redeem them. In that case, Prost!