It is not the first time that large quantities of beer end up in the sewers. Less than two centuries ago, beer was brewed in Plzeň that was spilled due to poor technology, about a hundred years ago in the USA it was done by tax collectors due to prohibition, and today breweries are destroying beer that was not sold due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Global beer consumption is expected to be a massive 800 million cases down on last year, forcing breweries across the world to pour millions of litres of beer down the drain due to coronavirus restrictions.
The closure of pubs, bars and restaurants and the cancellation of major beer-drinking festivals, such as Munich's Oktoberfest, have left many breweries fighting for their survival.
A traditional and family-owned brewery in southern Germany that has been operating for more than 400 years is just one of many businesses brought to its knees, closing its doors forever.
Rabobank grains and oilseeds senior analyst Cheryl Kalisch Gordon said the world's beer drinkers were expected to consume 82 million hectolitres less than last year.
Centuries-old brewery to shut down
Amid the first losses due to the coronavirus crisis is one of Germany's oldest breweries.
Operating since 1617, the family-owned Wernecker Bierbrauerei in Bavaria, which survived a revolution, crisis and two world wars, had to give up the fight.
The brewery's closure in September will not only have an enormous impact on the family and its 26 employees but will also take away part of local history and tradition in the small town of Werneck in the brewery-rich state of Bavaria.
Family member and brewery manager Christine Lang said the decision to stop brewing was heartbreaking.
The family business lost most of its revenue overnight when coronavirus restrictions were put in place.
Ms Lang said they decided to continue running the business until September in the hope of selling all of its beer.
Source: ABC News
