Forty Bavarian brewers seek to hike the deposit on beer crates

Germany | As of March 2020, several dozen Bavarian breweries will increase the deposit on beer crates from currently EUR 1.50 to EUR 6. This is meant to persuade tardy consumers to return crates more quickly rather than throw them away or store them in their basements.

Putting pressure on negotiations between various German beer industry groups to agree on a nation-wide hike for the beer crate deposit, the Association of Private Breweries in Bavaria announced on 23 August 2019 that it will barge ahead, with 40 of its members promising to implement a deposit increase as of March 2020. There are more than 1,500 breweries in Germany and all use their own branded crates. The deposit has remained unchanged for decades.

The vanguard among Bavarian brewers hopes that consumers will turn in their crates more quickly and don’t throw them away. They argue that for many punters, the deposit of EUR 1.50 for a crate of 20 bottles (10 litres) doesn’t warrant the hassle of taking them back. Especially during the summer months, plenty of breweries struggle to ship their beers due to a lack of crates. They are forced to constantly buy new crates, which cost more than the current deposit.

Since the beginning of the year, brewers’ associations have been in discussions whether and how to raise the deposit. Not all are convinced that it is necessary and can be done without causing problems.

The German Brewers Association is among the doubters. It has pointed out that there is no evidence that consumers are hoarding empty crates. What is more, the association harbours doubts that an increase will do away with shortages.  

The situation is complex, as there are roughly 200 million beer crates in circulation. Retailers, for their part, have installed about 100,000 reverse dispensing machines. Those breweries set on hiking the deposit would have to mark their crates so that the machines can tell which is which. This will cost money. Worse, still, what about the crates, which were purchased prior to the change, and are only handed in afterwards? Are brewers willing to be charged the extra cost by the retailers?