German Breweries Are Forced to Adapt as Gen Z Goes Alkoholfrei

(Bloomberg) -172 years of the Lang-Bräu Beer Factory in the north of Bavaria, the defense of the two world wars and the fall of the two world wars and the iron curtain decreased in less than thirty minutes. However, in recent years, money problems have proved more than the small operation could cope. The owners who faced 12 million € ($ 13.9 million) for the highly needed upgrades decided to close everything last summer.

“Beer factories can suffer incredibly pain, Ric said Richard Hopf, who leads the family business and now supervising his closing. “However, when sales fall and costs increase, it leaves very little space for long -term thoughts.”

Lang-Bräu is familiar with many German beer producers. Between inflation and higher energy prices, financial pressures on Beerma producers are increasing. In addition to this uncertainty, another sober development is development: in a country defined by beer culture for a long time, he wants to consume less young alcohol.

For many Germans in Gen Z, which includes everyone born between 1997-2012, beer is no longer a daily ritual, but rare tolerance. And when they enjoy the occasional wheat beer or Pilsner, the probability of choosing a non -alcoholic option is increasingly likely.

Some beer factories took action to adapt-now there are more than 800 non-alcoholic beers in Germany-but this did not balance a wider drop. An average German is now consuming 88 liters of beer in 2000 in a year. In the first half of 2025, the country’s statistical office decreased by 6.3% in beer production, a new low.

“Obviously worrying,” Holger Eichele, who leads to Germany’s Brewer Association, said. “Conditions are not good. Even those who have been doing their business for centuries may have to give up now.”

Gen Z’s avoidance of alcohol does not only occur in Germany, which produces the most beer on the continent. Young people drink less in Europe and the United States. There are various reasons for this: young people have less disposable income than previous generations, healthy life movements are increasing and there is more awareness about health risks associated with drinking.

“I never order, Car Carla Schüßler, a student in southwestern Germany, said. In his generation, “alcohol is open to everyone that is not good for your body.”

Beer’s high -calorie content does not sit well with Gen Zers with image awareness. Fitness influencers routinely publish about the negative effects of alcohol and warn that it prevents fat burning and muscle building. Luke Heiler, 22 -year -old Luke Heiler, who works in a chemical laboratory and exercises regularly, said, “It is hard to improve your fitness level while drinking.”

As these views become more common, about 1,500 beer factory of Germany has to adapt. And he couldn’t do it all: 52 beer factories were closed between 2023 and 2024 – the biggest decline in at least thirty years.

Those who rethink the product ranges in a way that contains more beer mixed with soda and foamy juice drinks known as radler. Advertising boards in the train stations and advertisements on TV are now promoting non-alcoholic entertainment-in a known country for Oktoberfest, an unimaginable development and still support a 500-year-old law that necessitates more than four basic components.

Among all these changes, perhaps the largest is the explosion of non -alcoholic beer. While 10 of them still contain drinks in Germany, the production of non -alcoholic beer, which is defined as something containing less than 0.50% alcohol in volume, has doubled in the last decade.

“We do not think that the flagship beer with alcohol will achieve great growth in the coming decades in Germany,” he said. “Obviously, the growth area is low or non -alcoholic beer.”

For beer factories, it is not a problem to develop non -alcoholic versions of beer. The difficulty is to taste them as a real thing.

Those who can observe will prefer a process in which beer is normally brewed, after the fermentation is finished, alcohol is extracted in an extra step. This was integrated into a weekly process in the factory of Kombacher, in the West German city, where beer flows from pipes in different parts of the building.

However, this sensitive production level is not available for everyone. “Small beer factories usually cannot afford to buy alcohol,” he said. He added that the equipment requires € 1 million € ($ 1.2 million) in the region ”.

Instead, small beer factories usually use an easier method, which involves stopping the fermentation process before it is completed. Although it does not require additional investment, in most cases, drinkers notice the difference because the result is often sweeter than normal.

Entering the non -alcoholic market as a smaller beer manufacturer offers other difficulties. It is already difficult to enter a saturated area, especially when larger players are better positioned to quickly publish new drinks and buy the trademarks of built -in brands.

These obstacles can be fatal for local beer factories such as Lang-Bru, which is already under heavy financial stress after years of sale.

Hopf said the beer factory never trying to make its own non -alcoholic beer. However, considering how many options are in the market, he added that he did not think that it would make much difference.

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