display

The picture in Germany's beverage markets has changed.

A few years ago there were only a few non-alcoholic beers on the shelves, almost hidden in the shadows of their alcoholic siblings.

Alcohol-free assortments now fill entire aisles - from classic Pils or wheat without turning to alcohol-free mixed beer beverages, which not only score with an ever-increasing variety of fruits, but also increasingly come across as naturally cloudy.

While Germany's brewers were still producing 430 million liters of alcohol-free alcohol a year in 2010, they sold more than 660 million liters in 2020 despite the corona crisis and four-month lockdowns in the catering sector.

Of the almost 7,000 beer brands in Germany, more than 700 now produce non-alcoholic beers and mixed beer drinks.

And within the non-alcoholic segment, the 0.0 per mil products are increasingly pushing themselves into the front row.

0.0 beers are particularly popular

"The growth driver in the alcohol-free market is clearly the 0.0 segment," confirms Sinje Vogelsang, spokeswoman for the Warsteiner Brewery.

“The health awareness of the population is increasing steadily, and more and more people are completely giving up alcoholic beverages,” explains Marcus Wendel, Head of Marketing at the Warsteiner Group.

This also increases the demand for products with 0.0 percent alcohol by volume.

display

The 0.0 products are particularly popular with sports-savvy consumers.

But also for consumers who would otherwise have ordered mineral water or a soft drink with their meal instead of a beer, adds Sinje Vogelsang.

For Axel Dahm, the spokesman for the management of the Bitburger brewery group, the choice of alcohol-free also has "to do with the significantly changed quality of today's 0.0 beers, which guarantee full beer enjoyment".

In view of the continuous upward trend in 0.0 products, the Veltins brewery decided two years ago to consistently produce the entire alcohol-free portfolio as a 0.0 variant.

Thirst quencher containing vitamins

The 0.0 segment tends to appeal to younger people, says Marcus Strobl, beverage expert at the market research company Nielsen.

Despite the triumphant advance of the 0.0 beers, he sees the non-alcoholic area on the rise overall.

display

At Warsteiner, too, they are convinced that both will still find their lovers.

"The Pils with 0.0 percent alcohol is isotonic, contains vitamins" and is therefore ideal as a thirst quencher after exercise, says Marcus Wendel.

Due to the sustained high demand for beer and mixed beer drinks entirely without alcohol, Warsteiner launched its grapefruit beer mix in the 0.0 version in March in addition to the Pils.

For a long time the lemon was considered to be the ultimate for Radler and Co., meanwhile the slightly tart grapefruit is overtaking the sour citrus fruit.

Grapefruit is one of the winners

The grapefruit is clearly one of the winners, confirms Krombacher spokesman Peter Lemm.

It is no coincidence that Krombacher brought out a 0.0 grapefruit-wheat mix.

"Overall, the proportion of alcohol-free products in our group's total output is already over a third and has been growing steadily for years," says Lemm, "our alcohol-free beer and malt products achieve an annual output of well over one million hectoliters." This makes Krombacher the market leader in Alcohol-free beers in Germany.

Market leader Krombacher has been using 0.0 beer mixes for a long time.

Grapefruit is particularly popular at the moment

display

Carlsberg Holding can also come up with a superlative: "In East Germany, our 'Lübzer Naturradler Grapefruit' is the market leader in the beer mix segment and Lübzer Non-Alcoholic Grapefruit has recently taken over the market leadership in the non-alcoholic beer mix segment," says Martin Michel from Corporate Communications.

Lübzer has just added a new flavor to its range of natural cyclists: rhubarb.

In an international comparison, non-alcoholic beer is already relatively well established on the German market, estimates Jules Macken, Head of Marketing at Heineken Germany, of the situation.

What she noticed: "In this country, over 50 percent of the market for non-alcoholic beer consists of premium brands."

Your forecast is "continuous growth of around five percent per year for the premium segment".

And Jules Macken also likes to refer to a top position: "Our Gösser Naturradler brand is the undisputed leader among nature cyclists and is well on the way to taking the top position in the cyclist category."

Craft beers also play a role

In the craft beer sector, the trend towards alcohol-free has now also arrived.

The Hamburg creative brewery Kehrwieder has with its "überNormalNull" - or as it is called briefly on the label "ü.NN" - the "first German India Pale Ale", brewed with a yeast that cannot ferment malt sugar.

With the “Road Runner”, an alcohol-free stout combined with coffee, the Hamburgers have added a second non-alcoholic drink.

For Sascha Bruns, head of the Hamburg brewery Landgang, the fact that the craft beer community likes to drink a beer without turning it is not a contradiction - even if the craft beers of the small experimental breweries usually have a higher alcohol content than a classic pilsner, for example. “The creative scene has become known for its stronger, more intense beers. Anyone who has found pleasure in it, of course, would also like to drink a beer with a more intense taste in the non-alcoholic area, ”says Bruns.

His brewery has opted for a non-alcoholic pale ale.

The name "The Captain" says it all.

“When it gets really stormy, you need someone who can keep a clear head and calm blood.

At sea and on land, ”says the description.

It became a pale ale "because we like to drink hoppy beers," says Bruns.

Even at the Gebr. Maisel brewery in Bayreuth, the alcohol-free is a pale ale - which, however, cannot be seen at first glance.

"We called it Maisel & Friends non-alcoholic," says managing director Jeff Maisel, "only at the end of the line is there pale ale."

"It tastes like a beer with alcohol, nothing is missing," says Maisel with conviction.