26 / 308
26
HISTORY.
In
the
sixteenth
century,
the
brewing
business
of
Germany
ranked
very
high
and
beer
was
one
of
the
chief
exports
of
this
country.
The
Thirty
Years'
War
destroyed
this
industry.
The
public
prosperity
faded
and
the
quality,
the
reputation
of
the
beer
and
the
demand
for
it
were
likewise
dimin-
ished.
Up
to
that
time beer
was
made
in
smaller
villages
in
every
household;
after
it,
especially
in
lower
Germany
and
the
Netherlands,
a
specific
brewery
business
was
created,
which
flourished
mainly
in
Ghent,
Brugge,
and
Brussels;
Ratisbon
and
Ulm
were
the
brewing
centres
of
South
Germany.
In
cities
where,
on
account
of
the
lack
of
good
cellars,
etc.,
it
was
difficult
to
make
good
and
palatable
beer,
the
city
authorities
ordered
beer
in
casks
from
abroad,
and
these
were
put
on
draught
in
public
places,
built
expressly
for
this
purpose.
All
persons
having
visited
the
old
country
are
aware
of
the
existence
of
so-called
"
Rathskellers,"
as
for
in-
stance
in
Bremen,
Lubeck,
Salzburg,
etc.
These
cel-
lars
owe
their
origin
to
this
arrangement
of
the
city
government;
yet
these
public
places
changed
afterward
from
beer
into
wine
depositories.
Some
beers
of
that
time
acquired
a
very
great
repu-
tation,
as
those
of
Brunswick,
Eimbeck,
Merseburg,
Bamberg,
etc.
In
England
were
the
better
beers,
as
ale
and
porter,
not
manufactured
before
the
end
of
the
last
century;
up