2023-08-26 04:00:00
All the fun of Oktoberfest without the hangover. More and more Germans are turning to non-alcoholic beer, seduced by its health benefits and the increasing quality of the options available.
Beers with less than 0.5% proof, the legal limit to be classified as a non-alcoholic beverage, are no longer unusual in the famous “biergärten” (German for beer garden), terraces where beer is served.
According to the federal statistics portal Destatis, the volume of non-alcoholic beer produced in Germany has almost doubled in the last ten years, reaching 670 million liters in 2022.
A 2022 survey by the Allensbach institute found that non-alcoholic beer accounted for around 7% of total beer purchases.
“We see a strong increase in demand,” says Holger Eichele, head of the German Brewers’ Federation, which represents the interests of the industry.
BRLO, with its ‘biergärten’ in the central Kreuzberg district of Berlin, was one of the first to join this trend.
FERMENTATION TECHNIQUES
The brewer, proud to produce its drinks in Berlin itself, launched its non-alcoholic “Naked” line in 2017.
Since then, sales have risen rapidly, jumping 60% between 2021 and 2022.
“Since day one, this beer has been valued by our customers,” says Michael Lembke, one of the firm’s leaders.
At his brewery in the suburban Spandau district, about fifteen employees in heavy boots are busy assembling orders amid a maze of pipes and conveyor belts.
Every month about 160 hectoliters of Naked beer are produced in this place.
Launched in the 1970s, the non-alcoholic beer was initially conceived as a niche product for drivers, pregnant women, or recovering alcoholics.
But in recent years its consumption has become widespread. The number of brands that offer it has doubled since 2010 and there are already more than 700 that do so, according to the employers’ association.
This growth is due in part to the development of fermentation techniques, which have improved the quality of non-alcoholic beer, something that was previously a barrier for consumers.
At BLRO, the drink is produced for a week in huge gray vats with a yeast that prevents the creation of alcohol during fermentation without interfering with flavor.
“HUGE POTENTIAL”
But the boom is also explained by the healthy lifestyle habits of consumers and social awareness of the harmful effects of alcohol.
“It is a trend that we are noticing. There is a growing concern about the health imperatives in the population,” says Eichele, the head of the brewers’ federation.
“Sometimes you want to have a drink, but you don’t want to feel the effects of the alcohol,” says Max Thomas, a 44-year-old Briton living in Berlin.
Alcohol consumption is declining in Germany, especially among young people, although the country is still among the world’s biggest drinkers, with up to 10 liters of pure alcohol per inhabitant per year.
According to a study by the Federal Center for Health Education, 8.7% of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 consume alcohol at least once a week. In 2011, this figure stood at 14%, and in 1979 it was at 25%.
On average, a German drank 87.2 liters of beer in 2022, less than almost 100 liters in 2013, according to Destatis.
The brewing federation foresees a continued growth in the sales of its non-alcoholic products, reaching up to 20% of the market.
“It won’t completely replace classic beer, but it has enormous potential,” says Eichele.
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