Challenges to the Beer Industry

The health of the food supply after a heavy biofuels mandate

By: Michael Hotz & Rob Sladek

Renewable Fuels Impacts

• Crops for biofuels get subsidized to the Crops for biofuels get subsidized to the equivalent rate of $24.60 per acreequivalent rate of $24.60 per acre

• Barley production down 5.5% just in 2007, likely to continue

Climate

• Bad Weather– Yield 1.6 million tons 1.2 million tons– 270 Euros/ton 385 Euros/ton – Poor Quality

• Early Germination• Off Taste• Reduced performance

• Unable to Switch to Rice or Corn

Beer Law 1516

Germany can only use four ingredients in their beer making process

• Malted Grain• Hops • Yeast • Water

First used to stop buying competition from bread and beer– Neuzeller Kloster Brewery

(Black Beer Controversy)

Beer Pricing Increase

One liter = $10.70

This is a 5.5% increase from the previous Octoberfest

Inflation

• Electricity +12.4%

• Dairy Products +23.0%

• Oil Food Products +42.7%

• Rice and Cereals +26.9%

Types of German Beer• Altbier (old beer) • Berliner Weisse (Berlin wheat beer) • Bock (strong lager) • Dortmunder Export • Dunkel (dark beers) • Gose (a distinctive Leipzig style) • Hefeweizen (Bavarian wheat beer) • Kristallweizen (filtered Bavarian wheat beer) • Kölsch (Koelsch) (a very pale ale from Cologne/Köln) • Märzen (Bavarian "March Beer" — the original Oktoberfest beer) • Münchner Helles (Munich light lager) • Pils (AKA Pilsner or Pilsener) • Sticke (strong altbier) • Rauchbier (smoke beer)

German Beer Process

German Drinking Culture

• Can’t be alcoholics because they drink beer

• 42,000 deaths due to alcohol per year

• 1.7 million Germans “dependent on alcohol”

• Potential law change limiting teenage drinking