Key Takeaways
- Germany sold 23.59 million hectoliters of beer between January and April 2026.
- Bavaria and NRW together account for 56% of all beer sold in Germany. Bavaria alone sold 6.9 million hectoliters in the first four months of 2026.
- Nine of 12 German reporting regions posted lower beer sales between January and April 2026. Three grew: Thüringen (+11.1%), Sachsen-Anhalt (+5.4%), and Rheinland-Pfalz/Saarland (+0.4%).
- The male population aged 20 to 40 in Germany fell by one-third between 1990 and the mid-2020s. They are the core drinking group in the country.
- Per-capita beer consumption has declined as German drinkers shift toward lower-alcohol and alcohol-free alternatives.
- Retail beer prices rose 29% between 2015 and 2024. On-premise prices rose 39% over the same period.
Beer Sales by German State in 2026
| Federal State / Region | Beer Sales (January-April) | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (In hl) | Change vs 2025 | |
| Bayern | 6,913,547 | −0.4% |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | 6,213,197 | −0.2% |
| Niedersachsen / Bremen | 1,945,579 | −17.8% |
| Sachsen | 1,928,445 | −3.1% |
| Baden-Württemberg | 1,509,562 | −1.9% |
| Rheinland-Pfalz / Saarland | 1,282,981 | +0.4% |
| Berlin / Brandenburg | 996,139 | −0.7% |
| Thüringen | 694,174 | +11.1% |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 692,657 | −4.1% |
| Schleswig-Holstein / Hamburg | 666,177 | −9.1% |
| Sachsen-Anhalt | 539,037 | +5.4% |
| Hessen | 210,321* | −41.2%* |
| Germany Total | 23,591,815 | −2.9% |
Source: Destatis
Beer sales include volumes from breweries, beer warehouses, and registered recipients within each region. Volumes are in hectoliters (hl). 1 hl equals 100 liters. Four reporting regions combine multiple German states: Niedersachsen/Bremen, Berlin/Brandenburg, Rheinland-Pfalz/Saarland, and Schleswig-Holstein/Hamburg. Total beer includes both taxable and tax-free volumes.
*year-on-year decline exceeding 40%. This may reflect a reporting change, brewery closure, or reclassification rather than an actual shift in demand.
Germany sold 23.59 million hectoliters of beer in the first four months of 2026. Beer sales in Germany vary sharply by state. However, the top two positions did not change despite the market’s weakest year in three decades.
Bavaria and Nordrhein-Westfalen together accounted for 56% of Germany’s beer sales in 2026.
Bavaria sold 6.9 million hectoliters between January and April 2026. It has led all German states in beer sales for 11 consecutive years. Bavaria is home to 40% of all breweries in Germany.
Nordrhein-Westfalen sold 6.2 million hectoliters over the same period. Three of Germany’s ten largest breweries by volume are headquartered in NRW: Krombacher, Warsteiner, and Veltins.
Germany’s Beer Sales Hit Their Lowest Level Since 1993
Beer sales in Germany in 2025 were the lowest since 1993. Sales fell 6% from the year before. In the first four months of 2026, sales remained 2.9% below the same period in 2025.
Only three regions grew between January and April 2026:
- Thüringen: +11.1%
- Sachsen-Anhalt: +5.4%
- Rheinland-Pfalz / Saarland: +0.4%
The remaining nine regions all declined. Niedersachsen/Bremen posted the steepest fall at -17.8%. Hessen fell 41.2%.
The decline in beer sales across Germany is not seasonal. It traces to three structural forces.
- Demographic: The male population aged 20 to 40 fell by one-third between 1990 and the mid-2020s. They are the core beer-drinking group in Germany.
- Cultural: Per-capita beer consumption has declined. The shift toward lower-alcohol and alcohol-free alternatives has accelerated.
- Economic: Retail beer prices rose 29% between 2015 and 2024. On-premise prices rose 39% over the same period. Fifty-two German pubs and beer halls closed in 2024.
All three forces driving the decline are structural, not cyclical. However, while three regions grew in the first four months of 2026, their growth was not enough to shift the direction of Germany’s beer market overall.
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