Bavaria Abolishes the Wheat-Beer Monopoly

On August 6, 1798, Elector Karl Theodor abolished the Wittelsbach wheat-beer monopoly in Bavaria. The ruling dynasty had controlled the profitable privilege of brewing Weissbier for around two centuries, but the decree ended its exclusive right. Monasteries and civic breweries could subsequently acquire permission or concessions to brew wheat beer, while brewing rights were sold or leased on a nonexclusive basis. The monopoly had already lost much of its economic value by the late eighteenth century. Improvements in brown-beer brewing had contributed to changing consumer preferences, Weissbier had fallen out of favor, and the electoral wheat-beer breweries were operating at a loss. Its abolition therefore ended exclusive Wittelsbach control at a time when the once-lucrative beer had become a financial burden. Wheat-beer brewing continued in Bavaria, but no longer as the exclusive privilege that had shaped its production since the early seventeenth century.