Good news for the start of Bavaria's beer garden season: Except for capital city Munich, the southern German state's beer prices are expected to remain stable this year.
Paying more than €7 for a litre of beer, called a Maß, is not unusual in Munich. Some establishments have even raised their prices by up to €0.20 this season, just as they did last year, public broadcaster Bayerische Rundfunk reported on Tuesday.
According to BR, beer prices have increased by 1,400 percent since the 1950s, though overall inflation rose by about 300 percent. Back then guests at Munich’s most famous beer hall, the Hofbräuhaus paid just under a mark, or roughly €0.50, to quench their thirst – now they pay €6.90.
But outside of Munich, prices are more reasonable.
“Despite considerable operating costs we aren't seeing a wave of price increases within the Bavarian brewing sector,” spokesperson for the Bavarian brewer’s association Dr. Lothar Ebbertz told the broadcaster.
According to checks conducted by the station, prices per litre have changed little since last year, when they were on average €4.40 in Bamberg, €5.20 in Passau, €5.60 in Augsburg, €5.80 in Regensburg, and €5.90 in Nuremberg and Würzburg.
The most affordable Maß was found in the Upper Franconia region in the town ofHallerndorf for just €3.50.
Meanwhile prices are reportedly so high in Munich because tourists like to snag the large beer mugs for souvenirs.
“We have a lot of tourists,” manager of the beer garden at the Chinese Tower in the English Garden Ralf Sagroske told Bayerische Rundfunk, citing numbers higher than one million visitors each year. “Many take a souvenir along. The €1 deposit doesn’t cover the costs by a long shot”.
Some 30,000 beer mugs were reportedly taken from the beer garden last year, he said.
The Local DEU
