[evils]

A very misleading and poorly researched article. There are dozens of additives and agents allowed in brewing in Germany, but merely because they don't have to be listed on the label, breweries can uphold the illusion of purity.

[ainiriand]

If the label says it is bier, it has no additives as far as I know. We should separate the concept of ingredients and additives, which in most cases, are found accidentally and only in traces.

Can you enumerate additives allowed in german bier?

[tluyben2]

There are many chemicals used for cleaning / filtering in bier which technically don't/shouldn't end up in the beer and as such do not have to be listed; also the main ingredients are plants and as such they are fed and sprayed with things that are not ingredients. Pesticides and micro plastics are found in most (all?) German beer but are not direct ingredients so they are not listed.

[rerx]

That is true, but not the same as an additive put in on purpose.

[evils]

From the top of my head, polyvinylpyrrolidone, lactic acid, bentonite and gypsum are on the permitted list. For beers brewed with top fermenting yeast, sugars and artificial sweeteners are permitted as well (I think they do need to be listed, though).

Note that all of these are used by brewers intentionally, not just as a side-effect. They are used to clarify or to make water more suitable for brewing.