Grammar and Advertising

Why do they call it Löwenbräu (loeven+bwhroy)? "...there are very few changes to the endings of nouns" ― but what fun would it be without exceptions. A handful of nouns add an –n or an –en in all cases except the nominative singular, they are all masculine (phew!)...with the exception of the neuter 'Herz' (heart): Das Herz (nominative and accusative), dem Herzen (dative), and des Herzens (genitive). These words include those with certain endings stemming from Greek or Latin, several abstract nouns (peace, thought, name), and male persons or animals that end in –e (boy, colleague, French guy...although the adjective French would not be capitalized in German, and last―but not least―lion). Anyway, that’s why there is an 'n' in Löwenbräu (lion’s brew), and I’d feel better if we just didn’t talk about article and adjective endings at all...even though they were originally found in English also, today they only constitute a devastating surprise for any unsuspecting Brit or American who never thought for a minute that there could be a million ways to say 'the something-or-other'...


The lion was a symbol of the Counts Palatine on the Rhine. After Bavarian Duke Ludwig was granted the fiefdom of the Palatinate in 1214, it stood for centuries as symbol of the old Bavarian and Palatinate Wittelsbachs. Löwenbräu has been around since 1383, but like all of the other local breweries except Augustiner, it is no longer locally owned. They are probably pleased with, and yet not actually responsible for the infernal Lion Parade, and if you thought only the Western Hemisphere could generate a gratuitous array of flavors...think again. Everything from 'Triumphator' (7.6% alcohol, this one’s for Lent...because you don’t want to give up too much, now do you?) to Oktoberfestbier (6.1%), Original (5.2%), Radler (that means 'cyclist'―it's mixed with lemon soda, 2.5%), to Alkoholfrei (0.5%).

The motto is "Löwenbräu. Ein Bier wie Bayern." ― A beer like Bavaria.





Any wimpy, little blond here has no problem lugging around a couple of liters of beer and a smoked mackerel (and don’t be thinking they don’t do it).


...but I still say carrying 34 ounces of beer in a heavy glass mug just isn’t zierlich (dainty).