[Farm93]

Wow! 
Munich cancelled Oktoberfest 2020.
Germany extended the ban on large gatherings until at least August 31.
Bundesliga might get to do something as early as May without fans.

I am not sure the USA would have similar announcements this far out, but I applaud Germany for helping their business by telling them the brutal truth now to give them more time to prepare cancellation plans.

[Farm93]

Wow! 
Munich cancelled Oktoberfest 2020.
Germany extended the ban on large gatherings until at least August 31.
Bundesliga might get to do something as early as May without fans.

I am not sure the USA would have similar announcements this far out, but I applaud Germany for helping their business by telling them the brutal truth now to give them more time to prepare cancellation plans.

[82 Card]

Some of the beer made for Oktoberfest needs to be made right now. Cancelling later would result in brobdingnagian quantities of beer going to waste.

[82 Card]

Some of the beer made for Oktoberfest needs to be made right now. Cancelling later would result in brobdingnagian quantities of beer going to waste.

[stupac2]

Some of the beer made for Oktoberfest needs to be made right now. Cancelling later would result in of immense proportions quantities of beer going to waste.

Do they really need to lager Marzen for that long? Or is it more "we need so much of it and only have so many tanks"?

[stupac2]

Some of the beer made for Oktoberfest needs to be made right now. Cancelling later would result in of immense proportions quantities of beer going to waste.

Do they really need to lager Marzen for that long? Or is it more "we need so much of it and only have so many tanks"?

[Farm93]

Some of the beer made for Oktoberfest needs to be made right now. Cancelling later would result in of immense proportions quantities of beer going to waste.

Do they really need to lager Marzen for that long? Or is it more "we need so much of it and only have so many tanks"?

I realize people drink more at Oktoberfest, but Germans do actually drink beer year round.   The food and drink are never the biggest costs. My assumption is that most tourism related businesses in Munich make most of their money in October.   Calling this now allows organizers and businesses to avoid investments and expenses that normally would happen over the next 4-5 months.

I continue to appreciate that Germany is trying to balance health and business in a rational, scientific way.   After ramping up testing capabilities they have slowly started to open up smaller businesses while avoiding opening up larger businesses and major events.   It feels like the USA could track that same trajectory if our government planning for COVID had German's famed commitment to logistics and planning.

I suspect some of the US states will formulate plans using data and science as Germany is doing now.  That would imply fall college sports and on-campus education could already be closing in on the go/no-go points, at least in some states.

[Farm93]

Some of the beer made for Oktoberfest needs to be made right now. Cancelling later would result in of immense proportions quantities of beer going to waste.

Do they really need to lager Marzen for that long? Or is it more "we need so much of it and only have so many tanks"?

I realize people drink more at Oktoberfest, but Germans do actually drink beer year round.   The food and drink are never the biggest costs. My assumption is that most tourism related businesses in Munich make most of their money in October.   Calling this now allows organizers and businesses to avoid investments and expenses that normally would happen over the next 4-5 months.

I continue to appreciate that Germany is trying to balance health and business in a rational, scientific way.   After ramping up testing capabilities they have slowly started to open up smaller businesses while avoiding opening up larger businesses and major events.   It feels like the USA could track that same trajectory if our government planning for COVID had German's famed commitment to logistics and planning.

I suspect some of the US states will formulate plans using data and science as Germany is doing now.  That would imply fall college sports and on-campus education could already be closing in on the go/no-go points, at least in some states.

[82 Card]

Some of the beer made for Oktoberfest needs to be made right now. Cancelling later would result in of immense proportions quantities of beer going to waste.

Do they really need to lager Marzen for that long? Or is it more "we need so much of it and only have so many tanks"?

Having far more expertise in drinking than brewing, I only know what I can find in a quick Google search. This site claims that: "The Germans make this beer in March, and usually serve the beer in September." Not sure if that's absolutely necessary or just custom. Not sure whether production was interrupted by the shutdown mid-March. Note that, in spite of the name, Oktoberfest actually starts in September.

Farm93 is right that there's a whole lot more to Oktoberfest than beer. Festival beer consumption is massive but amounts to less than .1% of annual beer consumption in Germany. Not sure how interchangeable the festival beer delivery system is with other distribution systems. It could be like toilet paper in this country where there's a glut of commercial toilet paper that for some reason doesn't cross over into the domestic tp distribution channels.

[82 Card]

Some of the beer made for Oktoberfest needs to be made right now. Cancelling later would result in of immense proportions quantities of beer going to waste.

Do they really need to lager Marzen for that long? Or is it more "we need so much of it and only have so many tanks"?

Having far more expertise in drinking than brewing, I only know what I can find in a quick Google search. This site claims that: "The Germans make this beer in March, and usually serve the beer in September." Not sure if that's absolutely necessary or just custom. Not sure whether production was interrupted by the shutdown mid-March. Note that, in spite of the name, Oktoberfest actually starts in September.

Farm93 is right that there's a whole lot more to Oktoberfest than beer. Festival beer consumption is massive but amounts to less than .1% of annual beer consumption in Germany. Not sure how interchangeable the festival beer delivery system is with other distribution systems. It could be like toilet paper in this country where there's a glut of commercial toilet paper that for some reason doesn't cross over into the domestic tp distribution channels.

[stupac2]

My understanding, having never been to any of these but being pretty into beer in general, is that the beer served during Oktoberfest is typically a completely different style from the rest of the time (and typically Marzen, aka feistbeer aka a bunch of other things). I haven't looked into this much recently (besides going in circles on wikipedia trying to see how long Marzens lager for), so I won't claim any kind of expertise. Anyway the beer is probably a pretty minor concern in this decision, but it's amazing how this is impacting pretty much everything you can think of.

[stupac2]

My understanding, having never been to any of these but being pretty into beer in general, is that the beer served during Oktoberfest is typically a completely different style from the rest of the time (and typically Marzen, aka feistbeer aka a bunch of other things). I haven't looked into this much recently (besides going in circles on wikipedia trying to see how long Marzens lager for), so I won't claim any kind of expertise. Anyway the beer is probably a pretty minor concern in this decision, but it's amazing how this is impacting pretty much everything you can think of.

[pefloresjr]

Maybe if there is a big enough of a glut, they will pay us to take it off their hands, like oil.  
I have a brother who works provisioning planes and since their beer is going out of date, they guys each get to take a case of expiring beer home every day.  Pretty good deal considering he is lucky enough to have enough seniority to still be working.  

Cheers,
Pete F.

[pefloresjr]

Maybe if there is a big enough of a glut, they will pay us to take it off their hands, like oil.  
I have a brother who works provisioning planes and since their beer is going out of date, they guys each get to take a case of expiring beer home every day.  Pretty good deal considering he is lucky enough to have enough seniority to still be working.  

Cheers,
Pete F.