Bloomberg has learned about the consequences of the refusal of German youth from alcohol for breweries

German breweries are forced to adapt to the new reality, which is characterized by the rejection of alcohol by the German youth of generation Z. This was reported by Bloomberg on August 17.

It is noted that, for example, the German brewery Lang-Bräu in the north of Bavaria has survived two world wars and the fall of the Iron Curtain in its 172-year history, but the financial difficulties of recent years have forced the owners to close this small enterprise.

"Inflation and high energy prices are putting increasing financial pressure on brewers. This uncertainty is compounded by another sobering fact: in a country where beer culture has long been a determining factor, fewer and fewer young people want to drink alcohol," the article says.

According to Bloomberg, representatives of generation Z, which includes everyone who was born between 1997 and 2012, are drinking beer less and less often — not every day. And most often they choose the non-alcoholic option.

"Some breweries have taken steps to adapt: more than 800 non-alcoholic beers are now available in Germany, but this has not compensated for the larger decline," the agency writes.

The average German now consumes 88 liters of beer per year, up from 126 in 2000. In the first half of 2025, the National Statistical Office recorded a 6.3% drop in beer production.

"The abstinence of generation Z from alcohol is observed not only in Germany, which produces the most beer <...>. Young people also drink less throughout Europe and the United States," the article says.

The agency cites a decrease in income and increased awareness of the health risks associated with alcohol consumption as the main reasons for this trend. Also, young people are not satisfied with the high calorie content of beer.

Between 2023 and 2024, 52 breweries closed across Germany, the largest decline in at least three decades, Bloomberg writes.

Foam assets: Russian brewers have entered the top of the prestigious international rating

German companies, on the contrary, have lost ground

Earlier, on July 3, Heinrich Mayer, head of the BarthHaas reports project, told Izvestia that German beer is losing its importance due to a significant decrease in the production of foamy drinks in Germany. According to the latest data, not a single German brewery made it into the top twenty of the rating. According to Mayer, the decline in production among German beer producers will continue.

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