The credit crunch has hit Germany and it’s affecting beer sales. As the country’s heads towards its worst economic climate since the Second World War the Germans are cutting back on the booze. Last year the average German drank 109.5 litres of beer which is 2.2 litres less than in 2007.

“The times when every German drank more than 150 litres of beer annually are definitely gone,”

Peter Hahn, head of the German brewers’ association.

The price of beer hasn’t actually risen in Germany but there is increasing concern about the ecconomy which is leading to people being more careful with their money. The smoking ban in pubs is also said to have had an impact. In the fourth quater of 2007 sales in bars with smoking bans dropped by 14.1% on the same period the year before. Bars and restaurants that have found a way around the new laws (for example by having a smoking room) have suffered significantly less.

I wonder if the Oktoberfest will suffer this year because of the ecconomic climate? Last year 6,940,600 litres of beer were drunk which is 12,213,743.5 Imperial pints which means that some lightweight must have had a half.

Tagged: beer, germany, probably made up statistics