Bavarian beer lovers can rejoice as they will soon be able to get their hands on a stein of the golden nectar when Germany's biggest state reopens its biergartens later this month.

As the country begins to ease lockdown measures, authorities in Bavaria have ruled that beer gardens and outdoor restaurants can open for business from May 18.

Markus Söder, the state’s governor said in a statement: “The time has come for a cautious reopening,” adding that indoor restaurants will be permitted to reopen a week later, but with limited customer numbers and a state-wide 10pm closing time.

It was also announced that hotels will be able to welcome travellers from May 30. 

Bavaria was the first state in Germany to implement a lockdown and the state’s economics minister, Hubert Aiwanger, has called the gradual reopening of the food and drink industry a ‘big step towards normality’.

The announcement is a huge relief in the area after it was announced last month that the infamous beer festival, Oktoberfest, would be cancelled for 2020.