In Germany foaming golden beer is more than a drink; it's the lifeblood of tourism, an excuse to dress up. And for Germans, it's a pillar of national identity -- at least for the older generation.

This year a mug, called "Mass" in German, of the malty pale beer made exclusively by Munich's breweries sells at up to euro9.50 ($12.30).

When I read these German-beer-in-decline pieces, they sound a lot like the braggadocio we heard from New World winemakers - and the wine critics who loved them - in the 1980s and 1990s.

German beer enthusiasts tried Firestone Pale 31 beer at a recent tasting in Berlin, Germany. The California craft brew is sent via airfreight to Germany in special coolers.

With more than 1,300 breweries producing some five-and-a-half thousand different types of beer, Germany is serious about the amber nectar. There's even a word for it – bierernst – which means "deadly ...