EU: non-alcoholic beer is gaining popularity, but will it supplant traditional beer?

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Although the EU is increasingly producing low-alcohol (less than 0.5%) or no-alcohol beers, the vast majority of beer in the European Union remains alcoholic.

In 2023, traditional beer represented around 95% of beer production in the Union, or more than 32 billion litres. Non-alcoholic or low-alcohol beer accounted for only 1.8 billion liters.

However, Eurostat figures show that non-traditional beer is making huge strides in bridging the gap.

Between 2022 and 2023, non-traditional beer production increased by more than 13%, while traditional beer production decreased by 5%.

Which is the largest beer producing country in the EU?

Germany dominates the beer market on all fronts.

It remains by far the largest traditional brewer in the EU, with 22% of total EU production, followed by Spain (12%).

Germany also ranks first for non-alcoholic or low-alcohol beer, with around 30% (556 million litres), followed again by Spain with 14% (253 million), the Netherlands (202 million), France (161 million), the Czech Republic (117 million) and Romania (85 million).

Exports: Brits' love of EU beer overcomes Brexit

In terms of exports, the Netherlands is the EU's top seller of traditional beer, accounting for 21.5% of EU sales outside the bloc.

Despite Brexit, the UK is the main destination for EU beers, accounting for 23% of total exports. The second largest export partner is the United States (16.1%), followed by Russia (8.4%), China (7.3%) and Cuba (5.2%).

Regarding imports from outside, British beer is the most imported into the EU (57.6%), followed by Mexican beer (17.2%).

In terms of imports, France remains the largest importer of alcoholic beer, with 17.1% of the EU total.

Video editor • Mert Can Yilmaz