German beer sales: the downward trend continues

Germany | A hot summer is no longer enough to boost sales. In 2019 beer sales are forecasted to have dropped more than 2 percent to 85.2 million hl. This equals the shuttering of a large German brewery.

What has made the year-on-year comparison particularly tough is the fact that 2018 was an unusually good year for brewers. The long warm summer and the soccer world cup made for a higher beer consumption – about 0.5 percent or 500,000 hl over 2017.

The German brewing industry was unable to match these figures. Until the end of November 2019, beer sales fell 2.5 percent to 85.2 million hl, according to the latest data from the Federal Office of Statistics. Despite buoyant sales in December – when consumers tend to stock up on bargain offers – industry observers expect a nationwide drop in sales of about 2 percent for the full year 2019. This figure excludes non-alcoholic beer.

Pils remained the most popular beer style with a market share in excess of 50 percent, but had to defend its share of throat against low alcohol beers and regional specialties, like Hell beer. Non-alcoholic beers and non-alcoholic beer mixes continued their upward trend and could soon hit a market share of 10 percent.