We all know Germans love their beer -- the country has one of the highest per capita consumption rates in the world, but who would have thought of that as a training aid for competitive athletes? Well, the Germans, that's who.

As The New York Times details, the country that is currently in second place for the most medals at the Winter Olympics, and tied for most gold, has been using non-alcoholic beer in place of Gatorade for some time and athletes like Simon Schempp who competes in the biathlon:

“It’s a really good drink directly after training or after competition,” said Schempp, who won a silver medal in the 15-kilometer mass start event on Sunday.  

Schempp isn't alone in using non-alcoholic beer to train and recover; so many on the German team are doing it that they brought a huge amount and even got the medical stamp of approval:

Johannes Scherr, the doctor for the German Olympic ski team, said nearly all of his athletes drink nonalcoholic beer during training. And the brewery Krombacher has supplied 3,500 liters (about 1,000 gallons) of nonalcoholic beer to the athletes’ village so German athletes can enjoy it during competitions at the Pyeongchang Games, where Germany is tied for the most gold medals.

The German team says it's not just relying on what athletes claim; there is science to back up the anecdotal evidence:

Scherr conducted a double-blind study, financed by a brewing company, in which he gave runners in the 2009 Munich Marathon nonalcoholic beer every day for three weeks before and two weeks after the race. These runners suffered significantly less inflammation and fewer upper respiratory infections after the race than runners who had been given a placebo.  

Science or not, something is working for the German team as it fights Norway for top spot on the medal podium in Pyeongchang.