The famous beer festival in Munich - Oktoberfest, is returning after a two-year break due to the pandemic, but the long-awaited event opening tomorrow will pass under the heavy shadow of inflation, the Associated Press reported.

According to tradition, the festival will be opened precisely at noon by the mayor of Munich, who will open the first keg of beer with the words O'zapft is or "It is open" in Bavarian dialect, informs "Darik".

According to the festival's official page, a liter of beer will cost between €12.60 and €13.80, which is 15 percent more than in 2019, when the event was last held.

For German brewers, the rising costs are much wider than the price of a pint destined for wooden festival benches.

They face higher prices throughout the production chain, from raw materials like barley and hops to caps and bottles.

Brewers use gas, the price of which has skyrocketed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent curtailment of Russian supplies.

Barley has doubled to around 600 euros per ton, bottles have become more expensive by more than 80 percent, caps by up to 60 percent, and even the glue for the labels has a problem.

"The German brewing industry has never seen such prices," said Ulrich Binet, a spokesman for the Veltins brewery, whose production is sold at Oktoberfest.

Despite all the problems, festival visitors will be served by 487 breweries, restaurants, fish and meat stalls, wineries, etc.

The beer tents will be open from 9am to 10:30pm, with last orders taken at 9:30pm.

Inflation also hit Oktoberfest

Before the pandemic, about 6 million people passed through Oktoberfest.

Organizers hope this year's festival will at least approach those numbers.

Oktoberfest