Bavaria loses 13 breweries as beer consumption declines

Bavaria had 588 breweries in 2025, 13 fewer than the previous year, according to figures reported by BR. The number has fallen by almost 100 since 2000 as alcohol consumption declines.

Germany had 1,415 breweries in 2025, 53 fewer than a year earlier, according to new figures from the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden. Bavaria remains Germany’s leading brewing state, ahead of Baden-Württemberg with 190 breweries and North Rhine-Westphalia with 131.

Long-term decline continues

The figures reflect a longer-term trend. Bavaria had 60 more breweries in 2019, when the industry was already warning of a wave of closures. Statisticians attribute the development mainly to lower beer consumption, which has fallen by 15.7 per cent since 2019.

Several traditional breweries currently fighting for survival are not included among the 13 closures. The Bräu z´Loh near Dorfen in the Erding district is one example. Owner Barbara Lohmeier said she feared the small brewery might not survive to celebrate its centenary in two years.

If its old brewing kettle breaks down and has to be replaced with a new one costing 80,000 euros, the business could face insolvency, Lohmeier said previously during the Münchner Runde programme.

The Aktienbrauerei Kaufbeuren, which has 74 employees and more than 700 years of brewing tradition, is in an even more difficult position. It filed for insolvency in June. Operations are continuing, but the brewery must sell property and look for investors.

Demographic change affects demand

The decline in beer sales has several causes, including the closure of rural pubs, higher labour and raw-material costs, and consumers becoming more price-conscious. The main factor, however, is demographic change.

The relatively beer-drinking generation born after the Second World War is now at an age when many people consume alcohol more cautiously. Younger people are less inclined towards beer, not only because of competition from changing trend drinks such as alcopops.

According to the Bavarian Brewers’ Association, 85 per cent of young men were regular alcohol consumers in the 1970s. Today, the figure is 39 per cent. The proportion is lower among women.

Alcohol-free beer grows

Sales of alcohol-free beer developed positively in Bavaria in 2025. Breweries produced 2.5 million hectolitres, an increase of 11.5 per cent from the previous year.

That growth generally cannot offset declines in the core business, however. It also remains unclear whether the hot summer of 2026 will significantly increase demand. The beer sales figures for the football World Cup are not yet available, but are expected to have been limited because Germany’s national team was eliminated early.

Two breweries buck the trend

There have also been successful new breweries. Two young Munich breweries celebrated milestone anniversaries at the end of July: Haderner Bräu and Giesinger Bräu.

Haderner Bräu was founded as a family business in 2016 and says it is Munich’s first certified organic brewery. It operates at the historic Haderner Stürzerhof, the birthplace of brewery founder Joseph Pschorr.

Giesinger Bräu has been brewing for 20 years. It began in a double garage in Untergiesing and now operates two breweries, in Giesing and Milbertshofen.