Call for Scots to down steins at Euros to save German beer

German brewers are calling on Scottish football fans to consume millions of steins of lager during the Euro 2024 championship this summer.

The news follows a decline in the overall volume of beer sales of 4.5% last year, which was part of an overall downward trend. Figures from the Federal Statistical Office revealed German-based breweries and distributors sold about 8.4 billion litres (2.2 billion gallons) of beer last year and yet hastened to add the figure doesn’t include non-alcoholic beer and beer imported from outside the European Union.

The report outlined that sales inside Germany, which account for more than four-fifths of the total, slid 4.2% to 6.9 billion litres (1.8 billion gallons). Additionally, exports were down 5.9% overall and there was a 2.6% drop in sales to other countries in the 27-nation EU, which reportedly bought 784 million litres (207 million gallons) of German beer. During the same time, sales to other countries were down 9.6% at 646.7 million litres (170.8 million gallons).

As a result, the country’s brewers have identified the football championship as an opportunity to sell a large quantity of beer, and boost the sector.

Fan zones

It comes as 100,000 Scottish fans are expected to descend upon Germany for the tournament, which takes place from 14 June to 14 July, and will also see fans from across Europe, including England, come to Germany to watch the matches, consume food, and hopefully a lot of local beers.

Locally based beer author Markus Raupach told The Sun that he was hoping that the Tartan Army would show its “incredible strength” and “support our breweries”.

He added that he hoped the opening match, against Germany on 14 June, would offer an opportunity for consumption in beer gardens and for fans to “party together” afterwards, with the hope that fans will “go out and have a lot of fun”.

ABV concerns

The news comes as official guidance from the UK Government has warned fans to be careful of the strength of German lagers, which can often be significantly higher in ABV than their British counterparts.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) expects as many as 800,000 British football fans to travel to Germany in June. At present, it expects 500,000 fans from the UK to attend, but the figure could rise. Currently, Scotland and England have qualified for the tournament with Wales due to take on Finland in Cardiff through a play-off semi-final on 21 March.

Due to the large volume of fans, the FCO issued a warning to fans to not get caught out by the strong ABV of some German beers, and risk subsequently being banned from games from drunkenness.

The average strength of lager and ale in the UK is around 4.4% ABV, according to Drinkaware, but beers in Germany are often 4.7% to 5.4% with many having considerably stronger ABVs, up to 16%.

The guidance said: “Beer can be stronger than in the UK, so drink responsibly, know your limits and respect local laws.”

“You may not be let into the stadium if you drink too much.”