Germany: March beer sales plummet by 10%

Germany’s beer market extended its downward trend in March 2025, with domestic sales of non-alcoholic beer excluded, plummeting by 10.0% compared to the same month last year, Inside Beer reported on May

According to the Statistisches Bundesamt, only 4.8 million hectolitres of taxed beer were sold domestically in March—about 500,000 hl less than in March 2024. For the year to date, domestic sales totaled 61.3 million liters (6.13 million hl), representing a cumulative decline of 6.8%.

Total beer sales (domestic plus exports) fell to 5.93 million hl in March, down 621,000 hl or 9.5% year-over-year. This results in a total Q1 decline of 600,000 hl. Within these figures, the export volume dropped by 7.0% to 1.12 million hl. The steepest fall occurred in exports to EU countries, which fell by 9.7% to 609,000 hl, while exports to non-EU countries slipped by 3.5%.

The only segment to post growth was Biermix, which rose by 8.0% to 337,000 hl in March.
Several factors contributed to the continued sales slump: a late Easter holiday reduced seasonal demand, and early March carnival celebrations failed to boost consumption.

According to the Deutscher Brauer-Bund, mild weather, rising unemployment, increasing corporate insolvencies, and geopolitical instability are further weighing on consumer sentiment.

Regionally, only Saxony-Anhalt (+6.7%) and Thuringia (+4.5%) posted growth. All other federal states reported significant declines, especially Hessen (-41.2%), RheinlandPfalz/Saarland (-22.1%), Schleswig-Holstein/Hamburg (-20.0%), and Berlin/Brandenburg (-17.4%).

The number of breweries in Germany has declined slightly since 2019, although microbreweries and craft startups continue to inject creativity into the market. Despite the volume drop, the brewing industry maintained stable revenues around EUR 9 billion, with a slight increase in 2024.

Statistisches Bundesamt data does not include alcohol-free beer, brewery-internal consumption (Haustrunk), or imported beer from outside the EU.

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