Bring your own stein: Bottle shortage causes Oktoberfest crisis

Germany is staring down the barrel of an unthinkable crisis. There's a beer bottle shortage, right before Oktoberfest, the country’s internationally renowned festival of getting totally drunk on beer. Luckily there is plenty of beer to go around, but they are short of “tens of thousands” of bottles after a particularly hot and buzzed summer. Heiner Müller of Paulaner brewery has already begged citizens of Munich to return their empties for reuse, and Spaten and Löwenbräu are running short of 30-liter kegs. With Oktoberfest set to start Sept. 22, we will definitely tape up a big box of our spare beer bongs, kegs, novelty glasses and steins shaped like boots to dispatch to the troubled nation. [Source]