On average, everyone in Germany drank as little beer in 2020 as they have not since the end of the 1950s.
Police broke up the party
Statistically, everyone in Germany drank as little beer in the Corona year as they have not since the end of the 1950s. While the per capita consumption in 2019 was almost 92 liters (with non-alcoholic beer and malt drink 99.7 liters), it fell by almost four liters to around 88 liters, according to the German Brewers' Association in Berlin. The consumption of non-alcoholic beers remained almost the same in 2020 and averages around 5 liters.
The main reason for the drop in beer consumption and the record low in beer in Germany may have been the closings of restaurants and bars due to the corona pandemic.
According to a list by the Brewers' Association, the per capita consumption of beer was last below 90 liters in 1958 (at that time only West Germany in the statistics). The exact total beer sales figures for 2020 are to be published in the coming days.
“The situation is dramatic”
“The situation is dramatic and unprecedented in the post-war period,” said the chief executive of the Brewers' Association, Holger Eichele, recently to the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”. While the draft beer business for the catering industry came to a complete standstill for months in 2020, the sale of bottled beer at some breweries even increased because consumers drank more within their own four walls.
The more a brewery specialized in gastronomy and thus in draft beer, the greater the losses. According to “FAZ”, this applies to Warsteiner, König Pilsener and Bitburger. Brands like Veltins and Beck's suffered less.
