German heavy metal fest builds beer pipeline to keep revellers pumped

[Daneman]

The Wacken Open Air festival in northern Germany is constructing its very own beer pipeline to quench the thirst of its tens of thousands of head-banging visitors.
The tiny town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein is already prepping for its annual heavy metal fest in August, which will see its current population of about 1,800 people balloon to more than 75,000.

In anticipation of all the beer to be drunk, the fest is building its first ever beer pipeline to transport the average 400,000 litres of brew consumed each year to the concert grounds. And the pipeline system will be speedy enough for bartenders to draw six beers per second.

“With this, the grounds will not to have need to have any heavy trucks distributing beer barrels,” said Wacken fest founder Holger Hübner on Tuesday.

The new pipeline is being built above all because it “is sustainable and it protects the ground” from aforementioned trucks with barrels, says spokeswoman Frederike Arns.

Each previous year, festival workers had to constantly move dozens of barrels through the grounds, bringing in full ones before and during the shows, and then removing empty ones.This caused a lot of wear and tear to the ground. The pipeline will reduce this traffic, and also eliminate the wait at the bar for a new keg to be tapped.

Along with the beer supply, the power and fiber optics will also get their own pipelines, as will drinking water and sewage - a fact which means it will be especially important that the lines don’t get crossed, the Hamburger Morgenpost notes.

“Of course we will control the hygiene of the tubes all the time,” the festival wrote in a statement.

Heavy rain during the festival can cause huge puddles to form - often to the delight of concert-goers. The improved drainage system will prevent this from happening.

“But no one should be afraid that there will be no more mud,” says Hübner.

The estimated total investment in the improvements is €1 million.

Metal fans from around the world will be able to enjoy the innovative amenities as they mosh to the music of 150 bands, including headliners Alice Cooper, Megadeath and Marilyn Manson.

According to Hamburg research group Statista, metal fans each drank on average 5.1 litres of beer in 2011. At Nürburg’s Rock am Ring rock festival, fans drank 3.1 litres each.

But while Wacken visitors may drink a lot, police and emergency workers emphasize that the open air fest is “mostly rollicking and peaceful”.

https://www.thelocal.de/20170524/ger...-beer-pipeline

That's pretty amazing, not to mention creative! Wish I could go but alas have other things to do.

[Xyonai]

I'm kind of amazed that a town that small has the facilities to occupy that many extra people. Though, I guess with that comes the revenue to build this Beer-Line in the first place, so good on them.

[Gemini Soul]

I want a beer pipeline to my place!

[Mayhem]

I wish we had something like that at Nova Rock

Aren't there any festivals in denmark?

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I'm kind of amazed that a town that small has the facilities to occupy that many extra people. Though, I guess with that comes the revenue to build this Beer-Line in the first place, so good on them.

Camping doesn't require much more than open space.

[Daneman]

I wish we had something like that at Nova Rock

Aren't there any festivals in denmark?

There are plenty, I've only been to the roskilde festival though, when I was younger.

[Mayhem]

There are plenty, I've only been to the roskilde festival though, when I was younger.

That's still not even half of what Nova Rock is and the nearby town is smaller than Wacken. Though i'd love to be there once, heard great things about Roskilde.

[Xyonai]

Camping doesn't require much more than open space.

For some reason the idea that they were camping didn't cross my mind. Makes more sense that way.

[Dellis0991]

That sound cool as hell.

[Nihilist74]

Leave it to the Germans to be highly efficient at serving beer to metal heads at a concert festival. What a country, orderung!

[Fencers]

I done with festivals but this is pretty cool nonetheless.

Last year at Riot Fest, the line to get water (out of a community hose!!) was so long it took over an hour to get a water bottle filled. It was a nightmare.

[Mayhem]

I done with festivals but this is pretty cool nonetheless.

Last year at Riot Fest, the line to get water (out of a community hose!!) was so long it took over an hour to get a water bottle filled. It was a nightmare.

What? Granted i don't drink water at festivals, it's pretty much 3 days beer briefly interrupted by a longdrink here and there, this sounds aweful. That's a festival with what 60k-80k people? Reading this makes Donauinselfest all the more impressive.

[belfpala]

I'm kind of amazed that a town that small has the facilities to occupy that many extra people. Though, I guess with that comes the revenue to build this Beer-Line in the first place, so good on them.

I've lived in a small city in the US where the football stadium has a greater seating capacity than the population of the city (by about 25%). Game days were fun.

[Afrospinach]

I am like 99% sure either Germany or the netherlands has a beer pipeline into the city that is a permanent feature and has been for like a century or more. Maybe it was Belgium. You should be able to look it up.

[ParanoiD84]

I want one of those.

[XDurionX]

Things that belong together, german beer and german engineering.

[Deleted]

Nice one for the logistics, but found the real cause:

“'With this, the grounds will not to have need to have any heavy trucks distributing beer barrels,' said Wacken fest founder Holger Hübner on Tuesday."

[Cyberowl]

The whole city is making its living on the festivals back. Housing prices in Wacken are like 3x times as high inside the city than in the next city. You have people moving here from all over Germany to live in Wacken and commute to Hamburg etc.

I'm not a fan of metal music, but on some days you can hear the music in my hometown. :P

[mvaliz]

My god, when will this socialist nightmare end!? Oh the HUMANITY! >_<

(This is sarcasm, btw. :P)

[Mayhem]

My god, when will this socialist nightmare end!? Oh the HUMANITY! >_<

(This is sarcasm, btw. :P)

I could easily top that.

[mvaliz]

I could easily top that.

By all means, go for it! I'm hardly a poet, so go ahead! ^_^

Just don't put too much head on it (to keep with the topic ;P)