08/12/2025

40% of German drinkers report drinking no-alcohol beer, topping global survey

8 December 2025 (London) 40% of German drinkers consumed no-alcohol beer in the last six months according to the latest IWSR Bevtrac survey of consumer behaviour, published today.

This is the highest figure for no-alcohol beer participation found in any of the fifteen markets included in the survey and is up significantly from 34% as recorded by the Bevtrac survey in Autumn 2023.

The surge is led by drinkers from Germany’s older generation, aged 61 and above, also known as “Boomers.” Over the past two years their engagement with no-alcohol beer has jumped from 30% to 41%. There were also increases over the same period for Millennial drinkers (from 38% to 44%) and Gen X drinkers (from 35% to 40%).

No-alcohol beer consumption is rising all over the world, but much of the recent growth comes from existing no-alcohol beer drinkers choosing to drink more. The number of German drinkers choosing to drink no-alcohol beer, however, is still edging upwards. This is despite Germany having the largest and most-developed no-alcohol beer market in the world.

No-alcohol beer volume grew by +6% in Germany from 2023 to 2024, and the total market now accounts for over 15% of global consumption. German volumes are more than 50% bigger than the second biggest no-alcohol beer market, Japan, and nearly twice as big as the third largest market, the US.

Despite being key markets for no-alcohol beer, market penetration in Japan and the US are still far behind Germany’s. In the latest Bevtrac survey, 32% of Japanese drinkers, and only 10% of American drinkers, reported drinking no-alcohol beer in the last six months.

Speaking about the IWSR Bevtrac survey results, IWSR President Marten Lodewijks said:

“No-alcohol beer has been a bright spot for the beverage alcohol industry for several years, and Germany has been by far the most important market for this growing category. With 40% of German drinkers taking part, we can definitively say that no-alcohol beer is a truly mainstream choice. The rest of the world may catch up to Germany on this count eventually, but it will take some time.”

About IWSR: For over 50 years, IWSR has been trusted by the leaders of global beverage alcohol businesses as an integral part of their strategic planning and decision-making processes. We uniquely combine proprietary longitudinal market data, consumer insights and AI-enhanced data science, with valuable on-the-ground human intelligence in 160 markets worldwide, to decipher what is really happening in the global beverage alcohol market. With access to our data, clients from across the drinks industry, including multinational spirits, beer, and wine businesses; packaging and ingredient manufacturers; distributors; and financial institutions, plan their strategies and future investment with a reliable, consistent and complete understanding of the global landscape.

Notes to journalists:

Bevtrac consumer insights are derived from twice-yearly quantitative online surveys conducted in 15 global markets (the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, South Africa, India, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia) with a total sample of n = >26,000 qualified respondents.

For Autumn 2025, IWSR defines generational cohorts as: