Munich has experienced an unusually warm summer this year, and with the hot temperatures came an increase in beer consumption. Although the increased sales are great for the breweries, there is a downside… a shortage of beer bottles and crates. With the Munich Oktoberfest less than 2 weeks away, supermarkets are having a hard time filling the shelves and brewers are literally begging consumers to bring back their empty bottles.
Heiner Müller, manager of the Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr brewery made a plea in Munich’s TZ newspaper saying ”Dear Munichers – bring back your crates. We need our empties!”. Even Hofbräu is feeling the pain with a shortage of tens of thousands of bottles. Hofbräu spokesman Stefan Hempl warned that “at the moment we could have a situation where we don’t have any dark beer for a few days.”
Oktoberfest season is usually one of the best times of the year for Germany’s many breweries, so it makes sense that they would begin panicking. In the case of Hofbräu, they are telling retailers that they will only fill orders when their empties are returned. While Germany has made it easy for consumers to recycle their used bottles, it often doesn’t help those who are enjoying a nice cold one on the go during the summer months.
Source: The LocalPhoto by Ricky Romero via flickr Article Source: German Pulse
