Music Fest Makes Hardcore Investment in Fans' Drinking

A pipeline will bring in 105K gallons of beer to heavy-metal aficionados
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 25, 2017 7:27 AM CDT
New at Heavy-Metal Music Fest: a Beer Pipeline
A heavy-metal music fan celebrates near the main stage at the Wacken Open Air music festival in the village of Wacken on Aug. 3, 2007.   (AP Photo/Patrick Lux)

Concertgoers at Germany's annual Wacken Open Air music festival are hardcore, and soon their drinking setup will be, too. Vice's Munchies reports that organizers for the fest—which takes place in August and will this year include the likes of Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, and Megadeth, plus dozens of other performers—are investing in imbibing infrastructure by installing an underground pipeline to bring in 105,000 gallons of beer to the concert site. Thanks to the new quaffing conduit, bartenders will be able to draw six beers per second, the Local notes, serving more than 75,000 thirsty music-lovers expected to attend the fest. The event website explains that providing beer to the masses at previous festivals involved the unwieldy process of rolling full barrels through the fields beforehand, then taking out the empty ones, which "caused a lot of avoidable traffic."

The pipeline, which is expected to cost around $1.1 million, will eliminate that congestion, as well as ease "bottlenecks" at the drink serving station. A new drainage system will be installed as well, which will ensure no giant puddles if it rains—though fest founder Holger Huebner tells the Local there will still be plenty of mud for concertgoers to frolic in. Event organizers say in a statement they consider the system a "lasting investment," as the festival takes place annually. Both fresh water and wastewater will also flow through the pipeline system, with the site noting that "of course we will control the hygiene of the tubes all the time." (Ukrainian authorities busted a bootleg-booze pipeline.)

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