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Barack Obama drinks beer over breakfast with Angela Merkel - but was it alcoholic? | Barack Obama drinks beer over breakfast with Angela Merkel - but was it alcoholic? |
(7 months later) | |
Surrounded by men wearing lederhosen and washing sausages down with German beer, Barack Obama looked surprisingly at ease enjoying a Bavarian breakfast. | Surrounded by men wearing lederhosen and washing sausages down with German beer, Barack Obama looked surprisingly at ease enjoying a Bavarian breakfast. |
Angela Merkel treated the US President to local specialities including Weisswurst and pretzels in the Alpine village of Kruen on Sunday ahead of the G7 summit. | Angela Merkel treated the US President to local specialities including Weisswurst and pretzels in the Alpine village of Kruen on Sunday ahead of the G7 summit. |
They ate with traditionally-dressed locals on on a long bench in the sunshine, as alphorns played in the background. | |
Photographs of Mr Obama seeing away a half-litre of beer at 11am after a trans-Atlantic flight quickly triggered speculation over whether it was alcoholic. | Photographs of Mr Obama seeing away a half-litre of beer at 11am after a trans-Atlantic flight quickly triggered speculation over whether it was alcoholic. |
A local farmer told reporters he had in fact drunk non-alcoholic beer at the breakfast, the Telegraph reported. | A local farmer told reporters he had in fact drunk non-alcoholic beer at the breakfast, the Telegraph reported. |
But Victoria Schubert, from the brewery that made it, said the President and Ms Merkel were drinking the real thing, as is customary for a traditional Bavarian breakfast. | But Victoria Schubert, from the brewery that made it, said the President and Ms Merkel were drinking the real thing, as is customary for a traditional Bavarian breakfast. |
“They were certainly not drinking alcohol-free beer,” she added, according to the Guardian. “It was 5 per cent proof, with an original gravity of 11 per cent, and like all German beer it was brewed according to 500-year-old purity laws.” | “They were certainly not drinking alcohol-free beer,” she added, according to the Guardian. “It was 5 per cent proof, with an original gravity of 11 per cent, and like all German beer it was brewed according to 500-year-old purity laws.” |
The Karg brewery, based in Murnau in Bavaria, does not advertise a non-alcoholic beer on its website and it has temporarily renamed its speciality wheat beer “Summit Weissbier” in honour of the G7. | The Karg brewery, based in Murnau in Bavaria, does not advertise a non-alcoholic beer on its website and it has temporarily renamed its speciality wheat beer “Summit Weissbier” in honour of the G7. |
As speculation continued over what Mr Obama was drinking on Sunday, the White House press secretary stepped in. | As speculation continued over what Mr Obama was drinking on Sunday, the White House press secretary stepped in. |
Josh Earnest said he was unsure what kind of beer the President had been served, but said he was confident “he did not order a non-alcoholic beer. Even after an overnight flight on a Sunday morning”. | |
Whatever he was drinking, he certainly enjoyed it. “It was a very fine beer. I wish I was staying,” the President told curious reporters. | Whatever he was drinking, he certainly enjoyed it. “It was a very fine beer. I wish I was staying,” the President told curious reporters. |
He spoke warmly of his country’s relationship with Germany in a speech watched by hundreds of men in feather-plumed hats and women in corseted “dirndl” dresses in the picture-perfect village. | He spoke warmly of his country’s relationship with Germany in a speech watched by hundreds of men in feather-plumed hats and women in corseted “dirndl” dresses in the picture-perfect village. |
“I have to admit that I forgot to bring my lederhosen but I'm going to see if I can buy some while I'm here,” he joked, saying that he hoped the G7 summit would coincide with Munich’s famous Octoberfest festival. | “I have to admit that I forgot to bring my lederhosen but I'm going to see if I can buy some while I'm here,” he joked, saying that he hoped the G7 summit would coincide with Munich’s famous Octoberfest festival. |
“But then again, there's never a bad day for a beer and a weisswurst and I can't think of a better place to come to celebrate the enduring friendship between the German and the American people.” | |
A proper Weisswurst Fruhstuck (breakfast) includes boiled sausages with sweet mustard, freshly-baked pretzels and wheat beer. | A proper Weisswurst Fruhstuck (breakfast) includes boiled sausages with sweet mustard, freshly-baked pretzels and wheat beer. |
The white sausages, which you eat by taking the filling out and discarding the skin, are traditionally made early in the morning and not consumed after midday. A local saying dictates that they must not hear the church bells chime at noon. | The white sausages, which you eat by taking the filling out and discarding the skin, are traditionally made early in the morning and not consumed after midday. A local saying dictates that they must not hear the church bells chime at noon. |
Intense security checks ahead of Mr Obama’s arrival had reportedly seen secret service agents test food and X-ray the sausages and meatloaf. | Intense security checks ahead of Mr Obama’s arrival had reportedly seen secret service agents test food and X-ray the sausages and meatloaf. |
After breakfast, he and Ms Merkel then headed off to Schloss Elmau for talks on issues including the Ukraine crisis, climate change and extremism. | After breakfast, he and Ms Merkel then headed off to Schloss Elmau for talks on issues including the Ukraine crisis, climate change and extremism. |
The two leaders’ relationship had been tested by claims that America’s NSA intelligence agency had tapped the German Chancellor’s mobile phone during the Edward Snowden leaks. | The two leaders’ relationship had been tested by claims that America’s NSA intelligence agency had tapped the German Chancellor’s mobile phone during the Edward Snowden leaks. |
Additional reporting by Reuters and AP | Additional reporting by Reuters and AP |
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