I hear that the German Beer reserves were at dangerously low levels
due to the the consumption by British Soccer fans?

Is this story true?

Mongolia

Hi mongolia-ga,

The alleged "beer shortage" seems to originate with stories like this one:

  "English fans are drinking the host country of Germany dry
   behind the scenes in many of the country's pubs and bars...
   breweries are concerned they might not be able to meet the
   demand for beer by the time of the final game of the tournament"

   English Fans In Germany Drinking The Country Dry
   http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7004069686

Journalists always like to make a story sound as dramatic as possible.
The article could equally-well have said: "Despite the influx of tens
of thousands of English football fans, beer supplies did not run out."

The above-referenced article continues: "in Nuremberg so far, 1.2
million pints of beer have were consumed during the England versus
Trinidad and Tobago match ... 900,000 pints were also consumed when
England played against Ecuador".

These numbers are high but not spectacularly so. Consider that the
population of the Nuremberg metropolitan area is 2.5 million (0.5
million in the urban area), and 1.2 million pints of beer in a day
doesn't sound like such a big deal.

Let's also put this into perspective by considering the overall beer
consumption of the two countries. Germans consume 115.8 liters per
person, per year on average. People from the United Kingdom consume
99.0 liters per person, per year on average. That corresponds to 0.67
pints per day for the Germans and 0.57 pints per day for the British,
according to this article:

   Czechs take the world cup in beer consumption
   http://www.mcall.com/features/columnists/all-beer0614jun14,0,3188493.column

On that basis you'd expect Nuremberg bars to be serving over a million
pints of beer per day anyway.

From a population point of view, 70,000 English fans are not going to
overwhelm a city of 2.5 million people, even if those 70,000 are
amongst the heaviest beer-drinkers and are at their peak of beer
consumption. Sure, there might be logistical problems getting all the
right beers in the right place at the right time, but that's not the
same as a beer drought.

We can get a feel for the beer consumption peak from the domestic UK
figures (same source as above):

  "In the United Kingdom, pub sales on World Cup days when
   the English national team plays is between 21 and 25
   million pints, compared to a normal day of about 18
   million pints."

That's a surge, for sure, but not a massive surge.

An ITV News report might allay your concerns further:

  "Following a rush from fans all over the world, German
   brewers have said there is no threat of a beer
   shortage during the World Cup.

  "Wolf Dieter Koelsch from the Cologne Brewery Association
   has reassured worried thirsty fans, saying: "... the
   demand for beer has very strongly increased in the last
   days, but we've been able to cope with it so far."

  "He added that emergency services are in place in
   breweries to keep innkeepers on tap with beer around
   the clock."

   World Cup Beer Shortage?
   http://www.itv.com/news/world_1d32cdbe044e09879ae4305dcbb5f60f.html

Note the question mark in the headline ("World Cup Beer Shortage?").
Frequently a question mark in a headline means "Not Really".

I hope this provides the information you are seeking. If not, please
request clarification.

Regards,
eiffel-ga


Google Search Strategy: 

"beer consumption" united.kingdom
://www.google.com/search?q=%22beer+consumption%22+united.kingdom

population of nuremberg
://www.google.com/search?q=population+of+nuremberg


Google News Search Strategy:

"ran out of beer"
http://news.google.com/news?q=%22ran+out+of+beer%22

"beer reserves"
http://news.google.com/news?q=%22beer+reserves%22

"beer supplies"
http://news.google.com/news?q=%22beer+supplies%22

beer "world cup"
http://news.google.com/news?q=beer+%22world+cup%22

nuremberg beer
http://news.google.com/news?q=nuremberg+beer


PS: You may enjoy this quirky story about the World Cup beer sponsorship deals:

  "...before being allowed in to see their team?s victory
   over Ivory Coast the Dutch supporters were issued with
   the absurd order to strip off their lederhosen"

   Fifa directive number 7645980/2(a)
   http://www.sundayherald.com/56512

Thanks, mongolia-ga, for your kind tip.

Regards,
eiffel-ga

Perhaps a future of alcohol-fueled vehicles is inevitable. It appears
that we already have a great many alcohol-fueled humans. ;-)

Right, Pink, me, for example:  one fuel but dual, triple forms of
propulsion  - walking, rowing, cycling, I can even drive (but we don't
talk about that).  ;-)

Back to the question:  apparently the major problem is logistics,
getting the beer to the drinkers, too many kegs and recycle bottles
now in circulation, difficulty getting them back to the breweries for
refilling.