A Munich beer hall before the start of Oktoberfest. (Reuters)
German officials are reportedly warning Munich beer tent operators not to give skimpy pours to tourists and other drinkers attending the city’s world-class brew fest starting this weekend.
According to Germany’s Münchner Merkur newspaper, venues at last year’s Oktoberfest failed to fill steins of beer and served them with too much head. As a result, some drinkers who paid almost $14 for a beer lost as much as $3 of liquid per drink, city authorities said.
Wilfried Blume-Beyerle, head of Munich’s Kreisverwaltungsreferat, which is responsible for order in the city, said bartenders who skimped or served overly frothy beer could be banned from the event and tent operators could face legal action.
The English-language news site, The Local, said that the Käfer’s Oktoberfest Tent was found to be the worst offender in 2012, pouring only 0.8 liters of actual beer in a 1-liter glass, while Löwenbräu's was the best, generally serving 0.94 liters.
And if skimping on the beer wasn’t enough. According to UniCredit Research’s Oktoberfest 2013 report, the average beer at this year’s festival will cost 3.6 percent more than it did last year.
More than 7 million beer drinkers are expected to attend Munich’s Oktoberfest to drink some 15 million glasses of beer.
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