Beer for sunflower oil? Munich pub finds way to beat frying crunch

Moritz Baller exchanges a bottle of sunflower oil for two glasses of beer at the Giesinger Brewery in Munich, Germany, July 15, 2022. Customers can pay for their beer at Munich’s Giesinger Braeu brewery with sunflower oil, after the distributor of the pub belonging to the brewery cannot supply the required quantities. Because of the war in Ukraine, one of the largest suppliers of sunflower oil, it will remain in short supply for the foreseeable future. REUTERS

BERLIN — A Munich brewpub has found a novel way to beat Europe’s cooking oil shortages – letting customers pay for their beer with sunflower oil to ensure plentiful stocks for frying schnitzels.

With Ukraine and Russia accounting for about 80% of global exports of sunflower seed oil, many European countries including Germany have seen supplies dwindle since Russia invaded its neighbour in February.

Managers at the Giesinger Brewery, a brewhouse and pub in the southern city of Munich, think they may have the answer, offering beer lovers a litre of their favourite brew for the same quantity of sunflower oil.

Sunflower oil from Ukraine, a total of 80 liters, is loaded from the trunk of Moritz Baller’s car at Munich’s Giesinger Brewery in Munich, Germany, July 15, 2022. Customers can pay for their beer at Munich’s Giesinger Braeu brewery with sunflower oil, after the distributor of the pub belonging to the brewery cannot supply the required quantities. Because of the war in Ukraine, one of the largest suppliers of sunflower oil, it will remain in short supply for the foreseeable future. REUTERS

“The whole thing came up because we simply ran out of oil in the kitchen and that’s why we have to be inventive,” the pub manager, Erik Hoffmann, told Reuters TV.

Bottles of rapeseed and sunflower oil have often been missing from supermarket shelves in Germany since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and many shops ration the number of bottles per customer.

“Getting oil is very difficult … if you need 30 litres a week and only get 15 instead, at some point you won’t be able to fry a schnitzel any longer,” Hoffmann said, adding that customers have swapped 400 litres so far.

Moritz Baller toasts with a glass of beer in his hand after exchanging 80 liters of sunflower oil from Ukraine for various types of beer at the Giesinger Brewery in Munich, Germany, July 15, 2022. Customers can pay for their beer at Munich’s Giesinger Braeu brewery with sunflower oil, after the distributor of the pub belonging to the brewery cannot supply the required quantities. Because of the war in Ukraine, one of the largest suppliers of sunflower oil, it will remain in short supply for the foreseeable future. REUTERS

While a litre of beer costs about 7 euros ($7) in German pubs, a one-litre bottle of sunflower oil retails for about 4.5 euros – making the offer tempting for many customers.

Customer Moritz Baller bought 80 litres of sunflower oil in Ukraine during a trip to deliver humanitarian aid, swapping his shipment for eight crates of beer for his birthday party.

“The campaign is cool,” he said. “We can get cheap beer and yes, Giesinger Brewery is also helped.”

($1 = 0.9914 euros)

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