Country has closed 137 establishments since 2019; alternative category already represents 11% of the market
Germany had 1,415 breweries in operation in 2025. The number has been decreasing, as has the consumption of the drink, according to data released by Destatis (Federal Statistics Office) before International Beer Day, celebrated on August 7th.
This represents 53 fewer and a decline of 3.6% compared to 2024 and 137 (8.8%) fewer than in 2019, the year in which the highest number of breweries was recorded in 3 decades. According to Destatis, the drop in sales of the drink was a determining factor in this. The agency says that sales fell 15.7% compared to 2019.
In 2025, around 7.8 billion liters were sold in the country, a decrease compared to the 8.3 billion liters in 2024 and the 9.6 billion liters in 2016.
In Germany, the state of Bavaria continues to lead, with 588 breweries, followed by Baden-Württemberg (190) and North Rhine-Westphalia (131). With the exception of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt, the other federal states are recording a decline in the number of establishments producing the alcoholic beverage. In Bavaria, for example, 60 breweries closed from 2019 to 2025. In the Rhineland, there were 31.
According to the research, a characteristic of breweries in Germany is that just over half (821) are small – with production of up to 100 thousand liters per year. On the other hand, there are few large establishments. In 2025, only 8 produced at least 200 million liters of beer. Also in this aspect, according to Destatis, the number is decreasing in almost all categories.
Furthermore, a previous survey indicated that around 1/3 of respondents had claimed to have completely abandoned alcoholic beer. On the other hand, as a survey by research institute YouGov showed, non-alcoholic varieties are becoming more popular. Reasons include health concerns and younger people, in particular, consuming alcohol less frequently.
STRUCTURAL CHANGES
The brewing sector has been facing changes in consumer habits and rising costs for years, especially with energy. According to the assessment of the president of Veltins, Volker Kuhl, breweries are going through a “manifest structural crisis”.
For the sector, non-alcoholic beer is, today, the greatest hope. According to Deutsche Brauer-Bund (German Breweries Association), the variety has already reached a market share of 11% of the total consumption of the drink in the country.
The 750 million liters registered last year represented a record and a growth of 7.6%. These numbers are not counted in official tax statistics. “Alcohol-free beers have long gone from being a niche product to becoming an important driver of growth in our sector”declared Christian Weber, President of the Brauerbund.
A German wave is Germany’s international broadcaster and produces independent journalism in 30 languages. The text was published on August 5, 2026 and adapted to the Poder360.
Facebook | Twitter | YouTube| WhatsApp | App | Instagram | Newsletter
Source: https://www.poder360.com.br/poder-internacional/alemanha-perde-cervejarias-e-aposta-nas-versoes-sem-alcool/
