In 2025 sales of beer by German breweries and storage facilities fell by 6.0 percent, or 497.1 million liters, to about 7.8 billion liters. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), this is the steepest decline in the series since it began in 1993, and it is the first time that annual sales have dropped below eight billion liters. The figures exclude non‑alcoholic beers, malt drinks, and beer imported from countries outside the European Union (EU).
Monthly data continued to show the seasonal pattern typical for 2025: beer consumption rose during spring and summer, then fell again in autumn and winter. The long‑term downward trend is also evident: compared with 2015, total beer sales in 2025 were 18.9 percent, or 1.8 billion liters, lower.
Domestic sales, which are subject to tax, accounted for 82.5 percent of total beer sales in 2025. The domestic volume fell by 5.8 percent to 6.4 billion liters. The remaining 17.5 percent – or 1.4 billion liters – were sold tax‑free as exports or as the so‑called “household drink” provided to brewery employees. This tax‑free volume was 7.0 percent lower than the year before. Of the tax‑free sales, 798.5 million liters were exported to EU countries (a 1.3 percent decline), 552.8 million liters to non‑EU countries (down 14.2 percent), and 10 million liters were distributed free of charge to brewery staff (down 7.2 percent).
Beer mixtures – beer combined with lemonade, cola, fruit juices, and other non‑alcoholic additives – also declined in 2025. Sales of these mixtures were 5.2 percent lower than in 2024, totaling 402 million liters, which represents 5.2 percent of total beer sales.