E-Malt.com News article: Germany: Beer sales return to growth for the first time since July 2024

For the first time since July 2024, beer sales in Germany returned to growth in March 2026. German breweries sold around 6.6 million hectolitres of beer, up 9.4% compared with March 2025, Inside.Beer reported.

Domestic taxable beer sales, excluding alcohol-free beer, rose even more strongly by 10.3%. Exports increased by 5.6% in March and by 5.4% in the first quarter, with shipments to EU countries up 9.1% in March.

The rebound does not yet erase the weak start to the year. Total beer sales from January to March were still down 1.1%, while domestic sales remained 2.5% below the previous year.

Regionally, almost all German states reported growth. Only Hesse, down 38.8%, and Lower Saxony/Bremen, down 10.7%, remained negative. The strongest increases came from Rheinland-Pfalz/Saarland, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia.

The recovery comes after a severe 2025, when German breweries sold only 7.8 billion liters of beer, the lowest volume since records began in 1993. Despite the March rebound, structural pressure remains high due to declining beer consumption, rising energy and raw material costs, weak on-trade demand and changing consumer drinking habits.

Alcohol-free beer remains one of the few growth segments, with Germany established as
Europe’s largest market for alcohol-free beer.


18 May, 2026