Wacken Open Air Festival is constructing a 7-kilometer network of pipes to quench its thirsty fans. Attendees will drink an average of 5.1 liters of beer each over the festival.
The new pipeline will carry about 400,000 liters (105,000 gallons) of beer through the grounds of Wacken Open Air Festival in northern Germany.
The 75,000 metal fans who attend the event each year consume an average of about 5.1 liters of beer over the three-day festival, according to the statistics portal Statista. This compares to 3.1 liters per person for the Rock am Ring Festival.
The pipeline is being built to stop the ground being torn up by beer trucks.
Wacken fans are renowned for their ability to drink vast quantities of beerImage: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Rehder
"Until this year, we always had to move dozens of barrels through the infield," said the festival website. "This caused a lot of avoidable traffic. The new pipeline helps us to protect the floor!"
The beer pipeline will run through a 7-kilometer (4-mile) network of conduit pipeline buried 80 centimeters beneath the ground. The pipe network allows the festival site to be farmed normally throughout the rest of the year.
The network means organizers no longer have to truck in kegs of beer and tear up the groundImage: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Rehder
The new pipeline will have enough pressure to pour six beers in six seconds.
Police said the fans of Wacken drink a lot but are "mostly overexcited and peaceful."
This year's festival takes place from August 3 to August 5 and features 150 bands. Among those billed to play are Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Amon Amarth, Volbeat, Marilyn Manson, Accept, Status Quo, Turbonegro, Dillinger Escape Plan.
Festival organizers said they had also improved the drainage system but promised fans they wouldn't miss out on their cherished mud.
An introduction to German beer
The German Reinheitsgebot is recognized worldwide as a seal of quality. And in 2016, the longest-running food regulation is turning 500 years old. To celebrate, we're presenting a barrel of beer facts.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Hase
A wealth of choice
Many of the best-known German beer brands have long belonged to international corporations. But true charm can be found among the numerous small operations dotting the country. There are more than 1,350 different breweries and 5,500 unique brands in Germany. Producing more than 95 million hectoliters a year (over 2.5 billion gallons), Germany is the biggest beer producer in Europe.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Hase
The top 10 German beer brands
In terms of production volume, Oettinger and Krombacher are neck-and-neck in the race for first place. The graphic uses data made available in 2014. According to recent preliminary calculations, Krombacher now has the slight edge, thanks to its more robust sales abroad.
Oettinger
The main brand of a family business bearing the same name, Oettinger is one of the most successful brands in Germany. The company works according to the discount principle: high quality, low price, direct distribution and no marketing. In addition to its headquarters in the small Swabian town of Oettingen, Oettinger beer is brewed in the towns of Gotha, Mönchengladbach and Braunschweig.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Steffen
Beer consumption in Germany
Germans have been drinking less and less beer over the past few decades. At its height in 1980, per-capita consumption was nearly 146 liters (32 gallons) per year. In 2015, it was just 106 liters. In comparison, citizens of the Czech Republic consumed an average of 144 liters last year.
Krombacher
Founded in 1803, Krombacher has belonged to the Schadeberg family since 1922. It gets its name from the part of town where its brewery is located in Kreuztal, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. Krombacher Pils is the most-sold Pilsner beer in Germany, and its alcohol-free beer is a category leader as well. Krombacher is a Bundesliga and Formula 1 sponsor.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/C. Seidel
Beer consumption worldwide
When it comes to the sheer volume of beer consumed by different world regions, Asia lies clearly at the top, owing in part to its vast population. Asia consumes less beer per capita though compared with Europe.
Bitburger
The Bitburger brewery was founded in 1817 by Johan Peter Wallenborn, whose descendants still own the company today. Its famous slogan "Bitte ein Bit" (A Bit' please), was first used on October 8, 1951, at a food sellers convention in Cologne. Today the beer is distributed to 60 countries and is the third-largest brand on the German market.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Tittel
The world's biggest brewers
The graphic shows that German brewers are mere pipsqueaks in comparison to international beer corporations. The leader on the world market, Anheuser-Busch inBev, is close to a $100 billion deal with its closest competitor, SABMiller. The EU's competition oversight committee will decide on the legality of the merger by May.
Veltins
Veltins was founded in 1824. Its headquarters are located in Meschede-Grevenstein in northwestern Germany. Susanne Veltins has been the sole owner of the company since 1994. Veltin's beer "mixes" are market leaders in Germany. It became the main sponsor of the soccer team FC Schalke 04 in 1997.
