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Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow

by Iva Skoch (RSS feed) on Dec 26th 2007 at 6:30PM

The German brewery industry just announced that beer consumption in Germany is falling...again. In eight of the last nine years, beer consumption in that country has declined.

This is a country that takes beer seriously: there are over 1200 breweries there alone. The peak of consumption was in the 1980s, when Germans drank 156 liters of beer per capita per year. The numbers fell in 2007 by 3.5 liters, to a mere 112.5 liters for each man, woman, and child.

The only year with an increase? 2006, when it hosted the World Cup.

The reigning world leader in consumption? My home country of the Czech Republic, where we downed 158 liters per person, or over 104 pints every second.

Gallery: Girls of Oktoberfest

Filed under: Food and Drink, Czech Republic, Germany

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jamie Dec 27th 2007 12:12PM

I think it's a pretty global phenomenon. Countries everywhere are reducing alcohol consumption for health, safety, and economic means, just like they cut out midday relaxation and replaced it with airconditioning.

In Mexico they are billing it as a safety/productivity issue: http://www.gogirlfriend.com/trackback/185 and I'm sure in germany people are finding that if you've to work in the morning, you get up better without a having downed 3 pints the night before. I think alcohol consumption is moving towards bingedrinking instead. That is why England has so many problems.

Jack DeNeut Dec 27th 2007 1:17PM

I remember repeating this statistic (Czechs drink about 160 liters per capita) to investors when I worked as an analyst in Prague in the early 1990's.

Investors seemed to find this impressive, and a good reason to invest in Czech breweries. I tried to explain that the opposite was probably true - does it really make sense to invest in beer in a country that can't possibly drink more (i.e. the market can't grow)?

Johanna Dec 30th 2007 6:28PM

Although it has always been a known fact that Germans love their beer, I have always thought that the Dutch and the Belgians (no surprise there) topped the Germans in their consumption of beer, with the U.S. in the top 5 as well.

Jaeger Dec 30th 2007 7:12PM

Beer is God's way of letting us know that he loves us and wants us to be happy.

TB Dec 30th 2007 7:12PM

The Germans love there red wine much more I watched this all over the place. They are smart and know that there is more benefits with that than beer.
Americans with there BUD(crappy beer) should pretty soon be the front-runners.

TB Dec 30th 2007 7:16PM

I agree with the statement that bingedrinking is the wave of the future, sorry to say. I have never seen it in Germany and I go there a lot on bussiness. They are much slower drinkers and eaters than the Americans who guzzle the stuff down. Europeans enjoy there food and drinks much longer and are less hyper then American's. There eating and drinking process takes over 1 hour and I enjoy it now myself.
they taught me to relax overthere and I thank them for that.

Richard Dec 30th 2007 7:53PM

Who said Germans are smart??? Is that why the United States had to airlift food to them after WW 2 because they were so smart they let a madman lead them to destruction. German beer taste like skunk urine and smells worse. American beer taste like beer should and Bud leads the field. The old world is just that, old and decaying.

BC Dec 30th 2007 8:20PM

Richard, Richard. what are we going to do with you? If you think that Bud is what beer is all about, that must be all they have at your trailer park. There is lots of great beer in this country and the world, but Bud is not one of them, it is to beer what Adam Sandler is to comedy.

Jossy Dec 30th 2007 8:23PM

i don't drink beer, it tastes and looks like horse pee. don't drink hard stuff either, or wine, as it all tastes like army boot sock wash water and kerosene plus army cough syrup. gak, puke to it all. there must be something wrong with people's taste buds, this is all i have to say. actually, i'd rather drink dog poop that's been put into a blender with a bit of colorox added to make it soupy and easy to swallow. remember, one drink leads to 2, leads to 7, leads to 16, leads to 24, leads to driving a vehicle, leads to drunk driving, leads to accidents, leads to killing other innocent people. if this doesn't happen, it can lead to losing your job, your family, your home, and your health. is it really all that good tasting so one would risk all this? you can't run away from life's problems in a booze bottle, it only makes them worse. oh, and does the breath of someone that's drank alcohol ever stink to low gutter. gak, puke.

Richard Dec 30th 2007 8:22PM

Why wouldn't Europeans drink more beer?? If I had to live in Europe I would stay drunk myself. But please, learn to brush your teeth after a night of drinking that slop you call beer. Your breath smells horrific.

Richard Dec 30th 2007 8:33PM

Luckily for them, a few beers and the Europeans think they are Gods gift to the world, and allows them to forget that millions of their countrymen are lining up waiting their turn to immigrate to America. Keep guzzling that swill and dreaming those dreams of being great. Illusions are better than reality aren't they????

Richard Dec 30th 2007 8:44PM

Its a sad state of affairs when a continent only has their beer to brag about. Here in America we have walking on the Moon, exploring space, advances in science, and places of higher learning, not to mention huge leaps in medical procedures. OK you win, you got big breweries. LOL

scribe Dec 30th 2007 11:12PM

Ummm Richard- you forgot a few things that the US enjoys like a psuedo-democratic political system that's only responsive to big bucks and a majority of your country who'd be lucky to place Germany on a map.

Yep, America's a great place to visit, but the rest of the world doesn't necessarily want to live there.

You really need to get out more...

Doug Dec 31st 2007 8:35AM

...I am certainly not a beer officianado....but i do know what tastes good, have been to the German beergartens, as well as Prague, London and Dublin...however, the "best tasting" refreshing beer has to be in Riga, latvia...it makes you fall in love with beer..all over again..!!!