“Extremely Tense” Beer Bottle Shortage Emerges Ahead Of Germany’s Oktoberfest

The world’s largest beer festival, “Oktoberfest,” situated in Munich, Germany, is four months away, and the country’s energy crisis has sparked a beer bottle shortage. 

Germany is Europe’s largest manufacturing hub and faces exorbitantly high energy costs, rapid inflation, and a breakdown in supply chains, pressuring energy-intensive glass manufacturers. This economic backdrop alone could unleash stagflation. 

Holger Eichele of the German Brewers’ Federation told the German newspaper Bild the beer bottle shortage would impact small- and medium-sized breweries the hardest. He described the situation as “extremely tense” as the rising cost of production and logistics problems plague breweries. 

“If you don’t have long-term contracts, you currently have to pay 80% more for new glass bottles than you did a year ago. Some breweries are threatened with idling, they may soon be without bottles,” Eichele warned. 

Bild found the shortage of glass bottles is due to the soaring cost of fossil fuels, such as natural gas and diesel. 

“The current energy price crisis poses major challenges for the energy-intensive glass industry. Energy costs have risen by up to 500% compared to the previous year … These costs alone account for up to 20% of the operating costs in the glass industry,” a spokeswoman for the Federal Glass Industry Association said. 

A spokesperson for the century-old Radeberger brewery, located four hours northeast of Oktoberfest, said the beverage and brewing industry is strained and will worsen through summer.

It remains to be seen how a beer bottle shortage affects Oktoberfest, scheduled for late September.