German off sales by type 1981 - 2010

Table time again. I know. I’m a lazy git. Publishing a big table relieves me of the need to waste time thinking up those word things. It makes my head hurt doing all that brain work.

With a span of almost 30 years, what does the table tells us about the long term trends in preferred beer styles in Germany?

The most obvious – and potentially the most interesting – is that Pils appears to have passed it peak in popularity and is starting a long and permanent decline. That said, there’s no obvious candidate to replace it. After hitting an almost 70% market share in the late 1990’s, it’s dropped back to just 55% in 2010. I wish I had some more recent figures. My guess is that the decline has continued. It will be very significant when it falls below 50%.

The type to shoe the biggest percentage growth over the period is, surprisingly, alchohol free beer. Though for much of the time it’s been pretty flat at just under 3%.

Weizen has shown impressive growth from a tiny share in 1981 to becoming Germany’s third-favourite style in 2010. However, it also seems to be on the way down again from it’s peak of just under a 9% share in 2006.

The numbers for Kölsch and Alt look ever worse when looking at more years. They’ve gone from a combined share of over 11% to less than 3%. It makes you wonder just how much more their sales can drop before they start facing extinction.

I can’t tell you how depressing it is to see Biermischgetränke, vile combinations of beer and other junk, as Germany’s forth most popular “style”. Who the hell drinks those things? Teenagers, I would guess. Which doesn’t bode well for the future of German beer if it’s true.

I’m not sure what to say about Export. I looked like it was heading the same way as Mild in the early 21st century, then made a surprising recovery, only to start slipping again. I’m not going to stick my neck out with regards to its future. It could make a comeback, or it could disappear almost completely.

Here’s the table:

German off sales by type 1981 - 2010
Beer type	1981	1989	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000	2001	2002	2003	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Pils	48.5	57.5	64.1	66	68.1	67.8	67.9	66.9	68.6	62	57.9	60.3	55.7	55.2	55.2	55.1
Export/Edel/Spezial	20.8	10.9	10.1	9.7	8.8	8.8	9	9.5	7.3	9.6	10.4	12.5	10.1	9.8	10.1	9.8
Weizen	1.4	4.9	4.5	4.8	4.9	5.3	5.7	6	6.3	7.1	7.9	8.7	8.1	8.3	7.9	7.9
Hell	7.3	7.4	4.5	4.4	3.7	3.7	3.4	3.2	2.9	3.6	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.5	4.5
Alt	6.6	4.5	3.6	3.5	3.4	3.1	2.9	2.9	2.9	1.9	1.6	1.5	1.5	1.4	1.3	1.2
Kölsch	4.5	4	2.7	2.4	2.2	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.3	1.6	1.9	1.6	1.6	1.7	1.7
Malz	2.8	2.6	2.1	2	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.8	2.6	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.2	1.2
Alcohol free	0.3	2.7	3.7	3.4	2.9	2.7	2.7	2.8	2.6	2.4	2.3	2.6	2.6	2.9	3.3	3.7
Leichtbier			1.7	1.4	1.1	0.9	0.8	0.7	0.6			0.7	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.6
Schwarzbier									1	1.1	1.2	1.3	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.6
Bock									1.1			0.7	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
Lager													1	0.9	0.9	1
Märzen													0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
Diet									0.4			0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
Berliner Weiße													0	0	0	0
Biermischgetränke										3.6	4.5		6.3	6.5	6.5	6.5
Other	1.5	4.5	3	2.4	3	3.7	3.7	4.1	1.6	4.8	6.6		3.2	3.7	3.7	3.8
Sources:
1992-2001: Brauwelt Brevier 2003
2002 & 2006-2010: Deutscher Brauer-Bund, Bonn
Brauwelt nr. 46-47 (2006) page 1431

Maybe we should have a look at regional differences in preferences next.