Why is Barack Obama drinking beer at 11am?
The American president landed in Germany for the G7 summit - and headed straight to the pub
By Justin Huggler, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 2:30PM BST 07 Jun 2015, Source
Angela Merkel welcomed Barack Obama to the G7 summit with a traditional Bavarian breakfast on Sunday – complete with a half-litre of beer.
President Obama had just flown across the Atlantic to meet Mrs Merkel, David Cameron and the other G7 leaders at an exclusive spa resort in the Alps.
"Prost!" (Reuters)
But before he could get down to business, Mrs Merkel treated him to a full Bavarian breakfast of white sausages, pretzels and foaming lager.
Eleven in the morning might be considered a little early for a beer in some parts of the world, but in Bavaria breakfast is not complete without a weissbier, as the local wheat beer is called.
It’s not quite as hard-drinking as it sounds: Bavarians don’t down a quick pint before heading to the office every morning.
It originates in FrÜhschoppen - a local tradition of meeting for a drink late in the morning on Sundays and holidays.
According to Bavarian custom, the sausages cannot be eaten after 12 noon, because no preservatives are used and they are made fresh every day. Therefore those who wish to wash their sausages down with a beer must get supping before that time. The local saying is that the sausages must not be allowed to hear the church bells chime noon.
Mr Obama drank his beer to the sound of traditional Alpenhorns with an audience of locals, most whom wore traditional lederhosen and dirndls.
“When I first heard Angela was hosting the G-7 in Bavaria, I was hoping that it would fall during Oktoberfest, but then again there’s never a bad day for a beer and a weisswurst,” he said.
He later joked that they should hold the G7 talks “over a glass of beer”.
But there’s no need to worry that the leader of the free world might go into the summit without a clear head.
A local farmer told reporters Mr Obama had in fact drunk non-alcoholic beer at the breakfast.
