German beer market sees June sales rise but half‑year volume falls 2.2%
In June 2026 German beer sales increased by 5.2 % year‑on‑year, with taxable domestic volume up 5.7 % versus May and exports rising 3.7 % month‑on‑month. Despite this monthly gain, the total beer volume for the first half of 2026 fell 2.2 % (about 85 million litres) compared with the same period in 2025, leaving the sector in a continued downturn.
A YouGov online survey conducted between 6 July and 8 July 2026 with 2,119 respondents shows that 16 % of Germans drink non‑alcoholic beer, with 21 % of Generation Z and 19 % of Millennials choosing it after sport, while only 8 % drink alcoholic beer in the same context. The survey also found that 44 % never drink beer at all, with 52 % of women and 36 % of men reporting abstention. Non‑alcoholic beer now accounts for about 11 % of the German beer market, according to the German Brauer‑Bund.
Entities: Christian Weber · Destatis (German Federal Statistical Office) · Deutsche Brauer‑Bund · Deutscher Brauer‑Bund (DBB) · Generation Z · German Brauer‑Bund · German Brauer‑Bund (DBB) · Germany · Holger Eichele · Millennials · Volker Kuhl · YouGov
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 10 SOURCES] YouGov conducted an online survey between 6 July and 8 July 2026 with 2,119 participants. (YouGov)
- [● 4 SOURCES] 52 % of female respondents said they never drink beer. (YouGov)
- [● 10 SOURCES] Overall, 16 % of respondents said they regularly drink non‑alcoholic beer. (YouGov)
- [● 4 SOURCES] 19 % of Millennial respondents drink non‑alcoholic beer during or after sport. (YouGov)
- [● 9 SOURCES] Only 8 % of respondents drink alcoholic beer during or after sport. (YouGov)
- [● 4 SOURCES] 44 % of respondents said they never drink beer at all. (YouGov)
- [● 4 SOURCES] 36 % of male respondents said they never drink beer. (YouGov)
- [● 10 SOURCES] 21 % of Generation Z respondents drink non‑alcoholic beer during or after sport. (YouGov)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] German beer sales increased by 5.2 % in June 2026 compared with June 2025. (e2e8a03e-2c89-43dc-91ce-5066593d9a0f)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] German beer exports grew 3.7 % in June 2026 versus the previous month. (e2e8a03e-2c89-43dc-91ce-5066593d9a0f)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Overall German beer volume in the first half of 2026 fell 2.2 % (about 85 million litres) compared with the same period in 2025. (5a609f86-2ec8-454a-9b8f-57d2deb6db96)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Tax‑paying beer volume in Germany rose 5.7 % in June 2026 compared with May 2026. (e2e8a03e-2c89-43dc-91ce-5066593d9a0f)