Medical Reasons for Berlin Beers
There were really only two beers available at Gatow - Berliner Kindl and Schultheiss. Real drinkers (ie the rugby club) only drank Kindl, because it was rumoured that Schultheiss was deficient in Vitamin D. Since most of the population of Gatow were in 26SU and worked shifts in windowless areas, the normal source of Vitamin D (sunlight) was in short supply. The logic therefore was that if you drank too much Schultheiss you would exacerbate the Vitamin D shortage which would lead you into developing rickets and you would fall over a lot. Besides which...... Schultheiss tasted terrible!
If you drank Kindl, on the other hand, falling over was medically attributable to the long working hours and the worry. I feel lucky to have survived two tours in Berlin under such an appalling threat to my health.