This Bud's got Germany's Beer Lovers All Riled Up

Budweiser is the official "beer" of the World Cup. They paid 40 million for the monopolistic, um, "honor" even before beer loving Germany was selected as host.

German beer lovers are, to put it mildly, ticked off. You see, in Germany Budweiser isn't even considered beer. There are beer purity laws there that define beer as a beverage consisting only of malt, hops and water. Budweiser uses the adjunct rice as a fermentable that increases alcohol without adding taste. This allows the manufacturer to use fewer hops, because in beer the bitterness of hops are used to balance the sweetness of the malt.

Still, Franz Maget, a Bavarian Social Democrat, was diplomatic enought to call it a beer. "The worst beer in the world," he opined. (See Germany's beer lovers can already taste defeat)

Here's a map of the World Cup venues. Perhaps you'll want to avoid them if you want a taste of Germany's most celebrated product, because you will be unable to get real beer inside the stadiums in these cities. Here's a way to calculate the distances between major cities in Germany. Really, you're never far from a beer in Germany. And if you go during Oktoberfest, you can enjoy lots of the best German beers.