Charles IV Authorizes a Tax on Hopped Beer in Utrecht

On June 26, 1364, Emperor Charles IV authorized the bishop of Utrecht and his successors to collect a tax on beer brewed with hops in the city of Utrecht and the bishop’s territories. Issued at Budweis, now České Budějovice, the charter permitted a charge of one silver gros tournois per cask. The measure responded to a loss of income from gruit, the brewing ingredient whose sale had provided revenue to the bishop. The charter described hopped brewing as a method that had gained ground over the preceding thirty to forty years. Its purpose was to extend taxation to a product that was displacing gruit beer. It provides evidence of an established transition in brewing and of a ruler’s attempt to protect revenue as brewing ingredients changed.