The AJC reports on German discontent with American beers being promoted, instead of local fare.
Full text here -
Munich, Germany — In the cavernous back room of Munich's famous Augustiner beer hall, Heiko Hofrichter sits at one of the long wooden tables, takes a sip of his thick brew, and explains why German soccer fans just can't swallow the fact that America's Budweiser is the official beer at World Cup stadiums.
"For Germans, Bud tastes like watered-down beer. It's not beer," complained Hofrichter, 24, a graduate student from the city of Nuremberg.
"It's Spülwasser!" cried Robert Paustian, 32, from another table in the boisterous beer hall, using the German word for dishwater.
Other Germans haven't reacted so politely. Since Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser paid $40 million for the "pouring rights" at the 12 World Cup stadiums across the country — meaning most of the beer served will be the American brew — anti-Bud Web sites have flourished, calling for a boycott of Budweiser. Chat rooms for German soccer fans have been flooded with complaints about the prospect of having to replace a local pilsner with a Budweiser draft during the month-long tournament.
"If it's a German World Cup, the beer sponsors should be German," said Harald Paustian, 30, who was drinking a beer with his brother on a recent evening.
It's no secret that Germans love their beer — they are the globe's second-largest per capita beer consumers, behind the Czechs. Beer halls like Augustiner in Munich's central district are popular spots for all generations. It's not uncommon to see a family of four sharing a wooden bench with a rowdy group of post-game fans. Summer beer gardens can be found in almost every city and village across the country.
Most Germans know from memory the differences in the size and shape of the glasses in which regional beers are served. Schoolchildren can recite the year — 1516 — when Bavarian Duke Wilhelm IV introduced the Beer Purity Law, which set the standards for how beer was to be brewed and still is followed today.
"We respect the Germans' pride in their beer," said Tony Ponturo, vice president of global media and sports marketing for Anheuser-Busch. "But we are proud of Budweiser and what it's about. We think this is about giving consumers a choice."
But perhaps nowhere is the disappointment over Bud's presence stronger than in Munich, where the opening World Cup match will pit Germany against Costa Rica on Friday. This is the Bavarian city famous for its Hofbrauhaus and yearly Oktoberfest. Drinking songs have been written about the city's historic beer halls.
Making matters worse, locals here say, is the other big American sponsor in the stadium. McDonald's will be the main food vendor of the World Cup. Some German ticket holders say it's bad enough they will be sipping Budweiser at kickoff. But instead of pretzels, sausages and mustard, fans fear they'll only have French fries and Big Macs. "It's like going to an American basketball game and having Nuremberg sausages. It's just not right," Hofrichter said.
The decision on Budweiser's corporate sponsorships for the World Cup was made long ago, before Germany was named the host country, according to the tournament organizer, the Federation Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA. Each of the 12 stadiums may serve local and regional food specialties in addition to McDonald's.
And there is one concession here for those who are decidedly anti-Budweiser. Last year, Anheuser-Busch and Bitburger, a German brewer, reached an agreement that allows Bitburger to serve beer within the stadiums at a ratio of 30:70. German courts ruled that Bud sounded too similar to the short form for the German beer, "Bit." So the two companies came to a compromise, where Bud would retain the sole rights to advertise within the stadiums, while Bit would be allowed 30 percent of sales.
Ponturo admits that the German market has been hard to crack. Bud has about 2 percent of the beer market in Europe, he said, but accounts for less than 1 percent of beer sales in Germany. But lighter beers are making inroads, partly because younger people are more health-conscious. Beer sales inched lower in Germany in 2005 while sales of beer mixed with lemonade and other flavorings inched higher. Full-bodied beer remains predominant, but even the German brewer Beck's has begun marketing a light beer in Germany.
The debate over Budweiser at the World Cup isn't simply more anti-Americanism in a country whose population opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. It's largely a matter of taste. Many here say they just can't understand why anyone would want to drink Budweiser while in Germany.
"We don't make anything that you can compare it to. We just don't make that kind of beer. Why would we, when you can drink this?" Hofrichter said as he raised his glass of a local wheat beer.
Better Drinking
Wednesday, June 07, 2006 at 8:00 AM
American dishwater versus German beer
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June 14, 2006 4:22 AM
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June 15, 2006 7:01 AM