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No second beer please, we're German

Published: 24 Feb 09 17:26 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20090224-17641.html

Tuesday may be the last day for zealous Karneval goers to drink themselves into frothy oblivion before the onset of Lent, but new figures show Germans are only moderate consumers of beer – averaging as little as one bottle per day.

According to numbers released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) in Wiesbaden this week, the average German drinks only 0.34 litres of beer per day – or about the equivalent of a small bottle of Germany’s unofficial national beverage.

A total of 87.9 million hectolitres – or 123.9 litres per German over 15 – were consumed in 2008, according to the data. The figures included mixed beer drinks, but excluded alcohol-free beer and malt beverages.

Domestic consumption was calculated based on tax revenues, which included beer imported from abroad in addition to complementary beer given to brewery employees.

Those workers lucky enough to be gifted "liquid bread" loveliness almost certainly would have to put back more than one measely bottle a day in order to compensate for the country's teetotalers.

Click here for The Local's guide to Karneval.

The Local (news@thelocal.de)

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