Beer production in Europe has returned to pre-pandemic level
According to the latest Eurostat study, EU countries produced almost 34.4 billion liters of beer in 2022. This is 7% more than in 2021, which means that the production of the alcoholic beverage has returned to normal, to pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, beer production was 34.7 billion liters.
The total production of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer was almost 80 liters per person. The host of Oktoberfest, Germany, remains the leader in this unusual race — the country produced 7.6 billion liters. This is more than 22% of the European Union's total. About every fourth beer in Europe is German.
In second place is Spain (3.9 billion liters), followed by Poland (3.7 billion), the Netherlands (2.6 billion), France and Italy (2 billion liters each).
The Netherlands tops the export rankings. In 2022, the country exported 2.6 billion liters of beer — 27% of the European total. This is followed by Belgium (1.6 billion), Germany (1.5 billion), the Czech Republic (0.6 billion), and Ireland (0.4 billion).
The largest beer importer in 2022 was France, which imported 0.9 billion liters of beer (17% of the European total). Italy (more than 0.7 billion), Germany (less than 0.7 billion), the Netherlands (0.6 billion), and Spain (0.5 billion) are not far behind.
The main export destination outside the EU was the United Kingdom (860 million liters). This was followed by China (349 million), Russia (271 million), and Canada (155 million). The most imported brands include products from the United Kingdom (290 million), Mexico (99 million), Serbia (40 million), Ukraine (15 million), and China (11 million).
Luxembourg also has beer lovers: the fourth Kirchbéier Craft Beer Festival took place last year in July. There are also many restaurants and bars in the Grand Duchy where you can try different flavors of beer.
