German brewers are reassuring thirsty consumers there is no imminent danger of beer running out despite rumors that surging demand in the summer heat has exceeded the supply, said Reuters. "Brewers are working around the clock. Overtime is common, people are working weekends, and breweries are on triple shifts," said Erich Dederichs, managing director of the German Beer Brewers' Association.

Bremen-based Becks announced delivery delays earlier this week and several newspapers have run front-page stories forecasting a drought of the nation's favorite drink. However, Dederichs said Germans should not worry. "Perhaps a person's preferred brand will be sold out, but no one has to fear that beer as a whole will run out in Germany," Dederichs said.

Consumption was down 4.4 % in the first half of this year, but sales leapt 9.3 % in June compared with year-earlier levels. "The weather has skyrocketed overall demand. There is no better alcoholic thirst quencher than beer," said Jochen Schmitt of the Berliner-Schultheiss Brewery in the German capital. Germany, the world's third largest beer producer, brewed 108.4 million hectolitres of beer in 2002, while the average German consumed 121.5 litres.

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