That should warn you that we're headed for a very number-heavy post. All kicked off by some statistics I stumbled upon in a 19th-century German technical publication, the unputdownable "Jahresbericht über die Leistungen der chemischen Technologie 1882". It had me literally in stitches*.
The numbers cover the first years of the newly-founded German Empire. It was a very dynamic time in Germany. Political union brought all sorts of economic advantages with it and the German economy boomed. Rapid industrialisation was accompanied by a surge in population, which grew from 41 million in 1871 to 56 million in 1900. And, it being Germany, those extra 15 million souls drank beer. Any guesses as to what the trend in German beer output might be over these years? It doesn't take a genius to work that one out.
Let's get the barrel rolling with the initial set of numbers that kicked my mind off working. But first a little explanation. The German Empire was a complicated place. It wasn't a centralised state the way modern countries are. As a leftover from the way the country was nailed together in the 1870's, there were anomalies in various areas. Like beer tax. Several systems of beer taxation were in use in different parts.
That's why this table is split up in such a weird way. It's divided by beer tax district, which isn't the same as the administrative divisions - the equivalent of modern Germany's states. There was a standard system in much of the country - basically the bits the Prussians had controlled before unification. That's the Reichssteuergebiet (also called the Brausteuergebiet) - the Empire Tax Area. Then there were the traditional brewing regions of the South: Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden who retained their own system of taxing beer. Finally the newly-annexed territory of Alsace-Lorraine.
One last point. The way it's divided up tells us the source of these figures: tax authorities.
Ah, just found some numbers that continue from the first set, neatly doubling the size of the table. How brilliant is that?
| Beer production in the German customs area 1872 - 1881 (hl) | ||||||
| Year | Reichssteuergebiet | Bayern | Württemberg | Baden | Alsace-Lorraine | Total |
| 1872 | 16,102,179 | 10,905,836 | 4,197,274 | 926,957 | 812,454 | 32,944,700 |
| 1873 | 19,654,903 | 11,256,208 | 3,995,056 | 1,094,634 | 987,752 | 36,988,553 |
| 1874 | 20,494,914 | 12,079,760 | 3,596,144 | 1,133,865 | 889,191 | 38,193,874 |
| 1875 | 21,358,228 | 12,084,910 | 3,662,418 | 1,066,661 | 763,313 | 38,935,530 |
| 1876 | 20,873,379 | 12,347,153 | 3,879,006 | 1,050,841 | 706,694 | 38,857,073 |
| 1877/78 | 20,360,491 | 12,205,377 | 3,801,519 | 1,098,500 | 803,136 | 38,269,023 |
| 1878/79 | 20,371,925 | 12,122,483 | 3,067,305 | 1,085,020 | 787,905 | 37,434,638 |
| 1879/80 | 19,984,613 | 12,152,532 | 3,172,634 | 1,085,655 | 788,542 | 37,183,976 |
| 1880/81 | 21,136,031 | 11,821,915 | 3,396,292 | 1,155,450 | 982,659 | 38,492,347 |
| Average 1872 - 1881 | 20,037,407 | 11,886,242 | 3,640,850 | 1,077,509 | 835,738 | 37,477,746 |
| per head of population | 62 | 285 | 192 | 71 | 54 | 88 |
| 1881/1882 | 19,244,000 | 11,826,000 | 3,396,000 | 1,155,000 | 932,000 | 36,663,000 |
| 1885/86 | 22,105,000 | 12,655,000 | 2,879,000 | 1,244,000 | 691,000 | 39,822,000 |
| 1890/91 | 29,374,000 | 14,427,000 | 3,508,000 | 1,679,000 | 837,000 | 49,925,000 |
| 1891/92 | 29,695,000 | 14,490,000 | 3,454,000 | 1,643,000 | 875,000 | 50,268,000 |
| 1892/93 | 30,186,000 | 15,104,000 | 3,749,000 | 1,714,000 | 912,000 | 51,795,000 |
| 1893/94 | 31,290,000 | 15,025,000 | 3,478,000 | 1,710,000 | 907,000 | 52,528,000 |
| 1894/95 | 30,916,000 | 15,186,000 | 3,493,000 | 1,728,000 | 869,000 | 52,311,000 |
| 1895/96 | 34,337,000 | 16,034,000 | 3,885,000 | 1,914,000 | 997,000 | 57,299,000 |
| 1896/97 | 34,904,000 | 16,206,000 | 3,796,000 | 2,192,000 | 937,000 | 48,169,000 |
| 1897/98 | 37,707,000 | 16,982,000 | 4,100,000 | 2,741,000 | 964,000 | 62,649,000 |
| 1898/99 | 38,465,000 | 17,455,000 | 4,069,000 | 2,947,000 | 1,058,000 | 64,164,000 |
| 1899/1900 | 39,320,000 | 17,739,000 | 4,128,000 | 3,095,000 | 1,128,000 | 65,621,000 |
| Source: | ||||||
| "Jahrbuch der Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin, 1911", p.585-589 | ||||||
| Jahresbericht über die Leistungen der chemischen Technologie 1882, 1883, page 871. | ||||||
| https://archive.org/stream/jahresberichtbe02gottgoog#page/n900/mode/2up | ||||||
In terms of per capita production, Bavaria and Württemberg are way out in front. Wondering why Baden is so far behind the other southern regions in terms of beer output? The answer is simple: it's more wine country.
Now let's look at that in terms of percentage of total output. (These are derived from the figures in the first table.)
| Beer production in the German customs area 1872 - 1881 (%) | |||||
| Year | Reichssteuergebiet | Bayern | Württemberg | Baden | Alsace-Lorraine |
| 1872 | 48.88% | 33.10% | 12.74% | 2.81% | 2.47% |
| 1873 | 53.14% | 30.43% | 10.80% | 2.96% | 2.67% |
| 1874 | 53.66% | 31.63% | 9.42% | 2.97% | 2.33% |
| 1875 | 54.86% | 31.04% | 9.41% | 2.74% | 1.96% |
| 1876 | 53.72% | 31.78% | 9.98% | 2.70% | 1.82% |
| 1877/78 | 53.20% | 31.89% | 9.93% | 2.87% | 2.10% |
| 1878/79 | 54.42% | 32.38% | 8.19% | 2.90% | 2.10% |
| 1879/80 | 53.75% | 32.68% | 8.53% | 2.92% | 2.12% |
| 1880/81 | 54.91% | 30.71% | 8.82% | 3.00% | 2.55% |
| Average 1872 - 1881 | 53.46% | 31.72% | 9.71% | 2.88% | 2.23% |
| 1881/1882 | 52.49% | 32.26% | 9.26% | 3.15% | 2.54% |
| 1885/86 | 55.51% | 31.78% | 7.23% | 3.12% | 1.74% |
| 1890/91 | 58.84% | 28.90% | 7.03% | 3.36% | 1.68% |
| 1891/92 | 59.07% | 28.83% | 6.87% | 3.27% | 1.74% |
| 1892/93 | 58.28% | 29.16% | 7.24% | 3.31% | 1.76% |
| 1893/94 | 59.57% | 28.60% | 6.62% | 3.26% | 1.73% |
| 1894/95 | 59.10% | 29.03% | 6.68% | 3.30% | 1.66% |
| 1895/96 | 59.93% | 27.98% | 6.78% | 3.34% | 1.74% |
| 1896/97 | 72.46% | 33.64% | 7.88% | 4.55% | 1.95% |
| 1897/98 | 60.19% | 27.11% | 6.54% | 4.38% | 1.54% |
| 1898/99 | 59.95% | 27.20% | 6.34% | 4.59% | 1.65% |
| 1899/1900 | 59.92% | 27.03% | 6.29% | 4.72% | 1.72% |
Isn't that fascinating? It shows a long-term trend of the North of Germany producing a large percentage of the total at the expense of Bavaria and even more so from Württemberg. That can easily be explained. It was in the North where most of the industrialisation was taking place. And where large, modern, bottom-fermenting breweries were starting to appear, replacing small, old-fashioned top-fermenting breweries.
I'll be doing some more playing around with these numbers. I like to make statistics dance for their tea.
* I fell asleep while reading it and fell onto a glass, slashing my palm open.
Fascinating! This must explain why so many German breweries have 18-something on the label as their legendary founding date. It also makes it more likely that any beer with such a date on it is bottom-fermented, I guess.
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