IT IS brown-gold and alcoholic but, then, in the scathing verdict of German beer fans, so is paint thinner.

The Germans are furious that Budweiser will be the official tipple for the World Cup, which starts next month. The American lager has secured a near-monopoly of beer sales inside World Cup stadiums and within a 500m radius of the grounds, supplanting more than 1,270 domestic breweries.

And what most upsets the fans is that Budweiser — advertised as the “King of Beers” in the US — fails to meet the ancient German standards for purity, which stipulate that beer can be brewed only from malt, hops and water. Budweiser uses rice in its production process and therefore does not qualify as a beer in the German sense.

Budweiser’s World Cup status is a slap in the face for a country that attaches such importance to beer production. When Germany was a patchwork of principalities and duchies, a sponsored brewery was seen as the stamp of in- dependence. German pride at hosting the tournament is being dented by the fierce marketing of the American beer.

“Most pubs don’t even stock it,” groaned Walter König, of the Bavarian Breweries’ Association. “Bavarian beer should be available in a Bavarian stadium — Munich — for the first kick-off. But what can we do? Budweiser paid $40 million for the concession even before Germany had been chosen to host the tournament.”

Franz Maget, a Bavarian Social Democrat, has entered the fray, calling Budweiser “the worst beer in the world”.

This is more than a slanging match between brewers — it has become a kind of guerrilla warfare for trademark lawyers. One German beer, Bitburger, will now be allowed some sales space in the stadiums. Since the Czech brewery Budweiser Budvar, which makes a stronger brew, contests the right of the Americans to use the name Budweiser in Germany, only the name “Bud” can be displayed outside stadiums.

But “Bud” sounds much like “Bit”, the name used by the German Bitburger brewery. Budweiser’s owners, Anheuser-Busch, have therefore had to allow some sales of Bit alongside Bud.

Meanwhile, another German brewery has managed to slip past the gaze of the Fifa lawyers and has registered “Goal” as the official name of its beer. “Best drunk from the bottle,” says the advertising slogan, “because any Goal is celebrated best with a bottle in the hand.”

The stakes are high: two million thirsty German fans and one million foreigners will be gathering in the stadiums for the 64 matches, as well as in the 300 public viewing areas. And during a game the average World Cup fan drinks half a litre of beer.

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