AdvertisementGermany's Beer Purity Law Is 500 Years Old. Is It Past Its Sell-By Date?April 29, 2016Esme NicholsonfacebookEmailA waiter carries beers at the Theresienwiese fair grounds of the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, southern Germany, last September. For centuries, a German law has stipulated that beer can only be made from four ingredients. But as Germany embraces craft beer, some believe the law impedes good brewing. (AFP/Getty Images)