In 2025, the overall beer consumption of German breweries and wholesalers fell by 6.0 %, which amounts to 497.1 million litres, to about 7.8 billion litres. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Monday, this is the steepest decline in sales recorded since the beginning of the time series in 1993, and it marks the first time that beer sales in Germany have slipped below eight billion litres. The figures exclude non‑alcoholic beers, malt drinks, and beer imported from non‑EU countries.
The monthly data for 2025 again show the usual seasonal pattern, with beer sales rising during the spring and summer months and falling again in autumn and winter. The long‑term downward trend is also confirmed: breweries and wholesalers sold 1.8 billion litres-or 18.9 %-fewer beers in 2025 than they did in 2015.
Domestic consumption accounted for 82.5 % of all beer sales in 2025. These sales were subject to tax. Year‑over‑year domestic sales dropped by 5.8 %, falling to 6.4 billion litres. The remaining 17.5 %-or 1.4 billion litres-were tax‑free sales, either exports or so‑called “house drinks” sold free to brewery employees. This tax‑free volume was 7.0 % lower than the previous year. Of it, 798.5 million litres (a decrease of 1.3 %) were shipped to EU states, 552.8 million litres (down 14.2 %) to non‑EU states, and 10.0 million litres (down 7.2 %) were given free as house drinks to brewery staff.
Beer mixtures-blended with soft drinks, fruit juices and other non‑alcoholic additives-also experienced a decline. Compared with 2024, sales of beer mixtures fell by 5.2 %, reaching 402.0 million litres, which represents 5.2 % of total beer sales.
