German Brewers Raise Fracking Fears

A trade association of German brewers has warned of risks hydraulic fracturing (fracking) could create for the purity of water used in German beer.

The Brauer-Bund has written to Chancellor Angela Merkel explaining its fears if Germany decides to allow fracking, the key technology in extraction of shale gas.

German newspaper De Spiegel headlined its story about this "German Beer Brewers Foaming over Fracking."

In the letter, sent to six federal ministers, the brewers said: "The legal changes planned by the federal government to date are not sufficient to guarantee the security of drinking water supplies and to take into account the requirements of the Reinheitsgebot."

 Under the "Reinheitsgebot", or German purity law, brewers have to produce beer using only malt, hops, yeast and water.

"The water has to be pure and more than half Germany's brewers have their own wells which are situated outside areas that could be protected under the government's current planned legislation on fracking," said a Brauer-Bund spokesman.

"You cannot be sure that the water won't be polluted by chemicals so we have urged the government to carry out more research before it goes ahead with a fracking law," he added.

Germany is Europe's biggest producer of beer.

 The debate on whether Germany would join countries such as Poland in allowing fracking has warmed up recently, with EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger warning that his homeland could lose its competitive advantage if it refused the cost benefits shale mining could bring.

Attempts at introducing legislation on fracking in Berlin have been postponed several times.