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Planning a trip to the World Cup? Richard Jones provides a guide as to what to drink and eat

Whether you’re fan or foe of the beautiful game, it’s impossible to ignore the 2006 World Cup in Germany this summer.

Thirty two teams from fanatical (and ambivalent) football nations will descend on 12 venue cities to play 64 matches in June and July. The World Cup Final in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on Sunday July 9 will take place before an estimated television audience of more than one billion people.

As you might expect, however, this focus is not primarily about football.

For as well as hosting the world’s single largest sporting event, Germany also happens to produce some rather splendid beers. Around 1,200 breweries to be not very precise, producing a host of classic styles such as Pilsner, Dunkel, Bock, Hefeweizen, and many others.

If you are lucky enough to be visiting Germany for the World Cup this guide will be of direct use to you. However should you have missed out in the ticket lottery, or failed to care that such a lottery existed in the first place, do not despair.

Even if you couldn’t give a 4-4-2 for David Beckham’s metatarsal or the defensive frailties of the Spanish team, this guide should inspire you to drink a bottle, stein or keg of world class German beer.

BERLIN

Gradually coming to terms with its divided past, Germany’s capital city is a hotspot for culture, architecture, cuisine and nightlife. Berlin hosts six games in the World Cup including a Quarter Final and the Final itself on Sunday July 9.

Beer
The local speciality in Berlin is a.....

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By Richard Jones

Section : International Focus

Page number : 20