European beer market - statistics & facts
The beer market in Europe has faced several years of hardship driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently by the war in Ukraine and the ensuing inflation. Lockdowns caused the closure of many on-trade establishments and the war caused steep increases in commodity and manufacturing prices. While sales have begun to rebound from their recent lows as inflation has cooled, the alcoholic beer industry had already been experiencing years of stagnation as consumers have reduced consumption and explored other alcoholic beverages or non-alcoholic beers.
Germany is known worldwide, not only for their love of beer, but also the quality of beer they produce. Luckily for the world, they produce a lot of quality beer to enjoy. Germany was the leading producer of beer in Europe in 2022, at nearly 87 million hectoliters. Despite this, Germany was not the biggest exporter of beer in Europe. Belgium took the top spot, shipping 16.39 million hectoliters.
Market slowly recovering
All told, the beer market in Europe generated a revenue of 148 billion euros in 2023. The market has remained depressed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, although 2023 saw revenue nearly return to pre-pandemic levels. Along with a drop in revenue, the on-premise share of revenue had dropped to its lowest in years. In 2020, 49 percent of revenue was generated on-premise, almost 10 percent less than 2019. Compared to total revenue, the on-premise share has been recovering more swiftly.Germany is known worldwide, not only for their love of beer, but also the quality of beer they produce. Luckily for the world, they produce a lot of quality beer to enjoy. Germany was the leading producer of beer in Europe in 2022, at nearly 87 million hectoliters. Despite this, Germany was not the biggest exporter of beer in Europe. Belgium took the top spot, shipping 16.39 million hectoliters.
