afp | Consumers in Germany are holding back when it comes to drinking beer: sales of beer fell significantly again in 2025, as the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden announced on Monday. The decline of six percent compared to the previous year was the strongest since the time series began in 1993. “The breweries “Like retailers and restaurants, they are feeling the massive reluctance of consumers to consume,” explained the German Brewers’ Association.
According to statistics, sales fell to around 7.8 billion liters of beer, below 8 billion liters for the first time. The downward trend has been observed for years: ten years ago, in 2015, sales were 1.8 billion liters higher.
According to statistics, domestic sales fell by 5.8 percent – to a total of 6.4 billion liters. Sales of German beer to other EU countries fell by 1.3 percent to 798.5 million liters, and sales to the rest of the world fell by 14.2 percent to 552.8 million liters. Ten million liters flowed “free of charge as house drinks to the employees of the breweries,” the authority explained.
There is also a decline in consumption in other countries
The Brauer-Bund explained that the consumer climate was one of the main reasons for the sharp decline, not only in Germany but also in many other European countries. In Germany, the situation in the catering industry remains “worrying” and many businesses have not recovered since the pandemic. Accordingly, “the great market power of retail” continues to be a problem for breweries. The association called for “more decisive political efforts, particularly in energy policy and in reducing bureaucracy”.
The spokesman for the management of the Veltins brewery, Volker Kuhl, explained that the decline had “not hit the breweries unprepared, but to an extent that was not expected”. Market opportunities only opened up for those who invested with “courage and invested millions in new products and energetic transformation,” he continued. However, this is not possible for everyone.
Kuhl also struck a hopeful tone and explained that “where traditional businesses have to close,” “spaces for new gastronomic concepts” are created: In the coming decade, gastronomy will become “more diverse, more experimental, more open.”
Sales of non-alcoholic beer are growing
Non-alcoholic beers are not included in the official statistics. The Brewers’ Association emphasized that these are the fastest growing variety on the German beer market. Non-alcoholic beers and mixed beer drinks will exceed the ten percent mark in retail sales for the first time in 2025, and “in terms of market share, this threshold could be reached this year”. Germany has already become the “largest market for non-alcoholic beverages in Europe,” explained Brauer Bund President Christian Weber.
The non-alcoholic one According to the Brauer-Bund, we currently have a market share of 9.5 percent. Pils remains the “undisputed market leader” with a market share of almost 50 percent. The light beer category was in second place with around twelve percent.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, sales of Radler, Alster and similar beer blends also fell by 5.2 percent. Beers mixed with lemonade, cola, fruit juices and other non-alcoholic additives accounted for a total of 5.2 percent of beer sales.