World: Russia knocks Germany out of world’s top 5 largest beer producers

Russia has knocked Germany out of the top 5 largest beer producers worldwide, according to the latest industry report released on July 22.

While slightly less beer was brewed in Germany last year, output rose significantly in Russia, according to the report by the world's largest hop trader, BarthHaas.

Germany also loses its title as Europe's leading beer producer, which it has held since 2013. China remains the world's number one beer-producing nation, ahead of the United States.

Report author Heinrich Meier said that beer production in Russia increased by around 9% to 9.1 billion litres, while in Germany it fell by 1% to 8.4 billion litres.

BarthHaas managing director Thomas Raiser attributes Russia's production increase mainly to the fact that less beer is now being imported there and domestic production is being boosted.

Both Russia and Germany lag well behind the world's leading brewing nations. The report says China produced 34 billion litres and the US more than 18 billion – although both countries suffered declines of around 5%.

Brazil and Mexico also produced more beer than Russia and Germany in 2024, with 14.7 and 14.5 billion litres respectively.

Germany has long seen a downward trend in beer consumption due to its ageing population, competition from an increasing number of other beverages and declining purchasing power in economically difficult times.

The report does contain some good news for the German beer industry, with the country retaining its place as the world's leading supplier of hops, one of the main ingredients of beer.

However, the number of hop farmers in Germany has been declining for some time and fell to an "historic low" of under 1,000 this year.