Panic in huge European country as young people stop drinking beer | World | News
A gradual downward trend is hitting Germany’s breweries; Young people are increasingly turning away from booze to pursue healthier lifestyles. It is arguably the brewing capital of the world and home to some of its oldest sites, such as the Einbecker Brewery, founded over 600 years ago, and the Weihenstephan Brewery, in operation since 1040.
But Europe’s seventh largest country is not immune to the global decline in alcohol consumption in recent years; This is linked to changing social and cultural trends and the increase in non-alcoholic options.
Germany’s beer-drinking population has fallen to just 41% this year, with sales hitting a record low of 3.9 billion liters in the first half of 2025 after consecutive year-on-year contractions. According to reports, 50 of the country’s 1,500 breweries closed their doors last year alone, which is bad news for the century-old industry.
“In recent years, the percentage of people saying ‘Yes, I drink beer’ has always been 46%, 47%, 48%,” said Einbecker chairman Marc Kerger. New York Times. “And this year it’s only 41%. 41% is dramatic. Every week I get at least one phone call offering to sell us a brewery.”
Roxana Seehof, a 25-year-old art student living in the port city of Kiel, also suggested that her contemporaries were happy to drink “just a beer” when going out at night, while some abstained completely due to reasons such as the high cost of living and satisfaction with staying at home.
Companies, including Einbecker, have had to go their own way, either expanding their product lines or introducing non-alcoholic options; Mr Kerger said he had to struggle for almost a year to convince his colleagues of this.
He now expects half of the company’s annual revenue to come from non-alcoholic products over the next five years. “Beer is no longer the future,” he said.
While some are sure to mourn the loss or demotion of a historically dominant cultural tradition, others have suggested that a more measured approach to drinking isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Tens of thousands of deaths each year in Germany are linked to alcohol consumption, and beer festivals have long been hotbeds of sexual assaults by drunken revelers; a women’s rights group reported at least one a day at Oktoberfest celebrations in 2023.
Holger Eichele, President of the German Brewers’ Association, said, “Young people use alcohol much more consciously and sensitively than our generation. This is good news for health.”
