St. Pauli Girl

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St Pauli Girl
Location	Bremen, Germany
Owner(s)	InBev
Active beers
St Pauli Girl Lager	Pilsner
St Pauli Girl Special Dark	Dark lager
St Pauli Girl NA	Non-Alcoholic

St. Pauli Girl beers are brewed and bottled by the St. Pauli Brauerei, which is located within the Beck's brewery in Bremen, Germany. The brand derives its name from the fact that the original brewery was built upon St Paul's Monastery. However, the name choice also seems to be an allusion to Hamburg's famous red light district, St. Pauli, which is somewhat reflected in the advertising slogans.

There are currently three brands of beer brewed: St. Pauli Girl Lager, St. Pauli Girl Special Dark and St. Pauli Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverage. The beer is only produced for export and is not sold in Germany.

St Pauli Girl claims to brew all of their beers according to the Reinheitsgebot (German purity law) of 1516. However, they add cultured yeast during the brewing process (as do all commercial breweries in Germany, and the vast majority of breweries world-wide), which is in violation of the Reinheitsgebot. The Reinheitsgebot is frequently cited for marketing reasons, but it is unlikely that any modern brewery could be financially successful if it were strictly followed.

A Bavarian duke known as Wilhem IV established a far-reaching standard, which eventually all German beers were required to follow. The German Purity Law of 1516 created a common ground for "how beer is to be brewed and served in both winter and fall." The actual decree states: "In particular we wish that from now on, in all towns, markets and villages, nothing more is used for beer than barley, hops and water alone." ("Gersten, Hopfen, und Wasser") Yeast was not specifically mentioned in the law because its role in the fermentation process was not understood at the time.

The distinctive label depicting a woman wearing traditional outfits was introduced in the 1800s with the advent of the bottled beer. The local artist commissioned for the label drew his inspiration from the waitresses at the time.

St Pauli Girls Beers were first introduced into select US markets in 1965. National Distribution began in 1975. St. Pauli Non-Alcoholic was first sold in the United States in 1991. St Pauli Girl is the Number two selling German beer in the United States.^{[citation needed]}