Alcohol-Free Beer Also Available : Munich Breaks With Tradition, Soberly Sells Milk at Oktoberfest

A revolution is sweeping the froth from drinkers’ glasses at the Munich Oktoberfest Beer Festival. This year they are selling not just alcohol-free beer but milk.

Breaking with a century and a half of tradition, the 156th Oktoberfest will offer both beverages to up to 7 million visitors during a 16-day orgy of drinking and merrymaking that began Sept. 16.

Traditionalists may dismiss alcohol-free beer as “castrated barley-juice,” but steadily rising consumption of the brew by health-conscious young Germans has won it a place in the 14 huge tents that form the centerpiece of the festival.

City councilor Barbara Scheuble-Schaefer was one of those who successfully campaigned to have local laws changed to enable all breweries to sell in their tents alcohol-free beer, which Bavarians have nicknamed “lead-free” (as in gasoline).

“We welcome the growth in consumption of alcohol-free beer for both health and safety reasons,” she said.

Milk is making its debut in a small tent of its own.

The introduction of both drinks has been encouraged by motoring organizations anxious to ensure that drivers have an alternative to over-indulgence in more potent brews that could cost them their driver’s licenses.

“It is encouraging that all the Oktoberfest organizers will offer at least one alcohol-free drink that is cheaper than the same amount of beer,” said Munich’s Deputy Mayor Winfried Zehetmeier.

Alcohol-free beer made its first appearance several years ago, but only in smaller tents on the festival fringes.

But now it has been admitted into the “holy of holies,” the 14 central tents run by the main breweries. The largest of these hold about 10,000 drinkers, plus oompah bands, buxom waitresses and heavy clouds of smoke.

Breaking into Bavaria’s leading beerfest marks the coming of age for a drink that accounted for barely 2% of the West German market last year.

West Germans, the world’s champion beer drinkers, are turning more and more to weaker varieties. The brewing industry expects alcohol-free beer to capture 15% of the market eventually.

Apart from these innovations, the festival, launched by King Ludwig I of Bavaria to celebrate his marriage to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen in October, 1810, is largely sticking to tradition.

The festival opened with the Munich mayor banging open a beer barrel with a bronze hammer.

Beer drinkers gather in massive tents to down enormous one-liter (1 3/4-pint) mugs of their favorite tipple, to the deafening strains of the oompah bands.

Heavy imbibers must be aware of one further endurance challenge.

They face a $35 on-the-spot fine if, unable to face long lines for the toilets, they relieve themselves behind a tent.