The building that now houses the Brauhaus zum Prinzen is the oldest building still standing on Alter Markt and has always been called “Zur Brezel”. First mentioned in a document in 1213, it has stood in this form since 1580. The double gable shows that it is a kind of medieval double house: the northern part was a bakery and the southern part was a brewery. And there was a special reason for this juxtaposition. Beer has been brewed for 10,000 years and these days you often read about the German Purity Law of 1516, according to which beer may only be brewed from barley, hops and water. What is missing is the yeast, which was not known at the time. It was not until 1863 that Louis Pasteur discovered yeast and only then did people learn how to control the brewing process by using yeast correctly. So people brewed for 10,000 years without knowing what was happening and without really being able to control it. They brewed according to the experience they had. And so you knew that the beer was particularly good when you had just baked or when you were near a bakery. The natural yeast spores in the air from baking also helped the brewing process, and just like in the “Zur Brezel” house, a brewer was happy if there was a bakery nearby, as Rumpelstiltskin sang: “Today I bake, tomorrow I brew”
And not only Rumpelstiltskin knew that
