Europe’s €52bn beer industry turns to alcohol-free growth as consumption falls
EU beer consumption has fallen 9.2% since 2019, while production is down 8.6%. Alcohol-free beer now represents 8.2% of the market after sales rose 38.3% from 2020 to 2025.
Beer demand remains below 2019 levels
Europe’s brewing industry is placing greater weight on alcohol-free products as weaker household spending and changing consumer habits continue to reduce demand for conventional beer. According to Newmoney, citing the latest Brewers of Europe report, beer consumption in the European Union has fallen 9.2% since 2019, while production has declined 8.6%.
The contraction continued between 2024 and 2025, when consumption decreased by 3.2% and production by 2.9%. The report identifies the pandemic as a turning point that altered drinking habits and put pressure on household incomes. Although inflation has eased in several markets, financial constraints continue to limit consumer spending and business investment, with hospitality among the first sectors affected when confidence weakens.
Alcohol-free beer takes an 8.2% share
Alcohol-free beer is moving against the broader market decline. Sales increased by 5.87% between 2024 and 2025 and were 38.3% higher than in 2020. The category now accounts for 8.2% of the EU beer market, equivalent to roughly one in every twelve beers consumed. This gives brewers a growing product segment at a time when their core market is contracting.
The shift matters across a European industry comprising about 10,000 breweries, ranging from family-owned producers to multinational groups. Brewing generates approximately €52 billion in annual added value and supports around 2 million direct and indirect jobs. Producers are continuing to invest despite higher operating costs, uncertain demand and pressure on household budgets, making alcohol-free ranges an increasingly important route to retaining consumers.
Germany leads production and consumption
Germany remained Europe’s largest beer producer in 2025 with 79.238 million hectolitres, according to the figures presented by Brewers of Europe. Spain ranked second with 41.515 million hectolitres and Poland third with 33.060 million. The rest of the ten largest producers were the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Czechia, Italy, Romania and Austria.
Germany also led consumption at 70.365 million hectolitres. Spain followed with 43.438 million and the United Kingdom with 42.750 million. Poland, France, Italy, Romania, Czechia, the Netherlands and Austria completed the leading group, underlining the continued concentration of European beer demand in its largest established markets.
Greek output and trade recover after the pandemic
Comparable Greek data are available through 2024 rather than 2025. Production fell from 4.075 million hectolitres in 2019 to 3.397 million in 2020, then recovered to 4.091 million in 2021, 4.220 million in 2022, 4.026 million in 2023 and 4.310 million in 2024. Consumption followed a similar path, declining from 3.942 million hectolitres in 2019 to 3.051 million in 2020 before reaching 4.207 million in 2024.
In 2024, Greece imported 334,000 hectolitres of beer from other EU countries and 21,000 hectolitres from outside the bloc. It exported 120,000 hectolitres within the EU and 338,000 hectolitres to non-EU markets. The country had 76 active breweries, including 55 microbreweries, and the industry employed 2,200 people. Those figures show a market that has moved above its pre-pandemic production and consumption levels while maintaining a notable export position beyond the EU.
