Germany Beer Market Report 2025
"Engage younger, less active drinkers via seasonal editions, cross‑category mashups and flavour parity in low-/no-alcohol beers."
Javier Munoz, Research - Mintel Reports
German Beer Market – Trends and Insights
- 50% of Germans state non-alcoholic beers are a great way to maintain a healthy lifestyle without giving up beer altogether. Since the pandemic, total beer volume has entered a decline, shaped by a broader societal shift toward reduced alcohol consumption. This trend is primarily driven by growing consumer consciousness around long-term health.
- Despite this pressure, beer’s deep-rooted cultural relevance provides a powerful foundation for the industry. This heritage remains a potent asset that can be mobilised through storytelling that celebrates tradition and regional pride to rekindle consumer interest.
- The low- and non-alcoholic segment offers the most promising path for growth. While its expansion in 2024 was insufficient to offset declines in standard beer, it highlights a clear direction for innovation.
- By developing new flavours, launching seasonal editions and positioning low-/no-alcohol products as refreshing soft drink alternatives, brewers can directly address health concerns while sustaining existing demand for novelty.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
- Beer consumption in Germany is decreasing, with consumers shifting toward moderation or abstention due to health concerns and changing lifestyles
- Health-driven moderation is fuelling demand for low-/no-alcohol beers, supported by innovation
- Beer’s deep cultural roots in Germany remain a strong foundation, in spite of regional and generational divides
- The rise of bold flavours, beer mixes and collaborations with other drink categories is key to reshaping consumer expectations and expanding beer’s appeal
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Outlook for beer
- Opportunities
- Embrace traditional and hyper-local roots
- Appeal to novelty seekers with innovation beyond tradition
- Capitalise on low/no alcoholic beer growth
- Bold flavour, fun and health-consciousness to shape the future of German beers
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THE MARKET
- Market size and forecast for beer
- Market drivers
- Germany’s economy stumbles as optimism fades in 2025
- Graph 1: GDP growth and consumer price index, 2020-27
- Beer prices remain the lowest among other alcoholic drinks in spite of increases
- Graph 2: price of selected alcoholic drinks in EUR per litre, 2020-24
- Alcohol consumption moderation grows as Germany sips smarter
- Graph 3: share of consumers reducing their alcohol consumption, 2021 vs 2025
- German demographic evolution to further impact alcohol consumption
- Graph 4: share of population aged 55+ and <24 years old, 1985-2035
- Health awareness creates a dual impact on the industry
- Market size and forecast
- Market growth plateaus in Germany’s beer industry
- Graph 5: value market size for beer, 2020-25
- Graph 6: volume market size for beer, 2020-24
- Germany’s beer market stagnates as consumption falls
- Value sales stagnation remains inevitable in the forecast period
- Graph 7: retail value sales of beer, 2019-30
- Volume sales of beer projected to see -10.2% decline from 2024-30
- Graph 8: retail volume sales of beer, 2019-30
- Most projections point to a continued market decline ahead
- Low-/no-alcohol beer grows while standard recedes
- Graph 9: value retail sales for beer, by segment, 2022-24
- Graph 10: volume retail sales for beer, by segment, 2022-24
- Market share
- Market shares see little development when it comes to value shares
- Consumption remains conservative when it comes to brand share development
- Private label slows as Paulaner gains with few other shifts
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CONSUMER
- Consumption of beer
- Beer consumption declines for another year in Germany
- Consumption frequency holds steady despite drop in consumption
- Graph 11: frequency of beer consumption in the last three months, 2024-25
- Pilsner prevails as Germany’s beer icon
- Graph 12: types of beer consumed in the last three months, 2023-25
- Heritage over hype: traditional beer varieties gain share
- Graph 13: varieties of beer consumed in the last three months, 2023-25
- Non-alcoholic beer to ease health worries for German drinkers
- Graph 14: selected attitudes towards beer, 2025
- Reasons for reduced beer consumption
- Beer consumption decreases more pronouncedly out of home
- Graph 15: change in beer consumption compared to last year by place of consumption, 2025
- Moderation, health concerns and budgeting shape beer consumption
- Graph 16: reasons for drinking less beer at home/out-of-home compared to a year ago, 2025
- Other alcoholic drinks prove to be a minor threat to beer consumption
- Beer still leads among alcoholic drinks as youth drift towards novelty
- Flavour preferences for beer
- Strong flavours convince German beer drinkers
- Citrus reigns in Germany’s beer mixes
- Novelty in the beer market to be developed through new flavours and seasonal/limited editions
- Attitudes and behaviours
- Beer: a ‘cheers’ to German tradition, socialising and the economy
- Graph 17: selected attitudes towards beer, 2025
- Radeberger toasts ‘to passion’ in multimedia campaign
- Beer preferences, from regional sentiment to foreign appeal
- Graph 18: selected behaviours towards beer, 2025
- The ‘Reinheitsgebot’ proves to still be appreciated by most consumers
- Germany’s opinion on beer purity law highlights differences between regions
- Graph 19: behaviours towards “I think more German beer brands should break the Reinheitsgebot”, 2025
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PRODUCT, INNOVATION AND MARKETING
- Germany’s beer scene booms with alcohol-free brews
- Breweries focus on alcohol-free variants to capture new audiences
- Beer flavours evolve: grapefruit and orange rise as lemon loses its zest
- Graph 20: share of beer launches by flavour (excluding unflavoured), 2022-25
- Twisted citrus flavours and tropical heat among beer flavour innovations
- Product claims among new launches show interest in seasonal products while ‘premium’ falls
- Graph 21: beer launches with selected claims, 2017-18 vs 2023-24
- Bold flavours and limited availability to spark interest
- Private label share of new beer launches in Germany hits historic lows in 2025
- Graph 22: share of new beer product launches by branded/private label, 2022-25
- Radeberger leads ad spending among German beer brands, followed closely by Paulaner
- Graph 23: total spend on advertising for selected beer brands, 2022-25
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APPENDIX
- Market definition
- The market
- Forecast methodology
- Forecast methodology – fan chart
- Market size – value
- Market size – volume
- Market forecast and prediction intervals – value
- Market forecast and prediction intervals – volume
- The consumer
- Consumer research methodology
- Generations
- Other data source methodologies
- Mintel Spark
- Abbreviations
- A note on language
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