From declining alcohol consumption to the rise of alcohol-free beer, independent brewers are adapting to a rapidly changing market.

Speaking in London as part of BrauBeviale meets Europe, Stefan Stang, managing director, Private Brauereien Bayern, and the Independent Brewers of Europe argued that survival will depend on innovation, community ties and the ability to embrace change.

At a summer evening gathering in central London, the mood among brewers and drinks professionals was convivial. Yet the message delivered by Stefan Stang, managing director of Private Brauereien Bayern, was anything but complacent.

Drawing on the first report from the Independent Brewers of Europe (IBE), Stang painted a picture of a sector under pressure from changing drinking habits, economic headwinds and competition from global brewing groups. But he also offered reasons for optimism, arguing that Europe’s thousands of independent breweries remain resilient, innovative and deeply rooted in their communities.

“What I tell you right now,” Stang told the audience, “is the situation of the European breweries.”

The picture that emerged was one of an industry undergoing profound transformation.

A continent drinking less

Perhaps the most striking trend outlined by Stang was the long-term decline in alcohol consumption across Europe.

Using consumer data from Germany as an example, he showed that fewer people across all generations are drinking alcohol than they did a decade ago. While Generation Z is often blamed for driving the trend, Stang stressed that the decline is not confined to younger consumers.

“We always say it’s only Generation Z,” he said. “But this is not true. The decline is not age specific; it’s real for all generations.”

The figures are sobering. Around 61% of Generation Z consumers in Germany now drink alcohol, compared with 81% of millennials ten years earlier. Baby boomers are also drinking less than in previous decades.

For brewers, the implications are profound. Beer remains a cornerstone of European culture, but the industry can no longer assume that traditional consumption patterns will continue indefinitely.

Stang illustrated the point with a slide projecting a dramatic long-term decline in alcoholic beer consumption.

“This will not happen,” he said of a scenario where alcoholic beer disappears entirely. “But we have a problem right now. Less and less people drink alcohol.”

Independent brewers unite

The presentation centred on findings from the Independent Brewers of Europe, a relatively young organisation founded in 2024 that now represents 13 countries and more than 3,000 breweries.

According to Stang, the organisation exists to champion independent beer culture and to counter the market dominance of multinational brewing companies.

“We stand for authentic beer culture,” he said. “We fight against the illusion of choice created by the global groups.”

The report itself, produced from surveys conducted across member countries, provides one of the clearest pictures yet of Europe’s independent brewing sector.

The breweries represented by IBE are overwhelmingly small. The average production volume is around 10,000 hectolitres annually, while 80% produce fewer than 4,500 hectolitres.

“They are small,” Stang said, “but they are everywhere.”

This fragmentation creates challenges. It also creates diversity.

Packaging preferences, for example, vary dramatically across Europe. Reusable bottles dominate in Germany, where they account for around 73% of sales. In Finland, cans represent almost 90% of the market, while draught beer remains dominant in the UK and Czech Republic.

Such differences, Stang suggested, demonstrate why creating harmonised European regulations is difficult.

“You see the different countries have different packaging types,” he said. “It’s difficult to make European regulations.”

The rise of alcohol-free beer

If declining alcohol consumption is one defining trend, the growth of alcohol-free beer is another.

Across Europe, brewers are investing heavily in low- and no-alcohol alternatives, often alongside soft drinks, cider, spirits and other beverages.

“The alcohol-free beer is growing very fast,” Stang said.

In Germany, non-alcoholic beer now accounts for around 10% of total beer production and continues to grow. In Switzerland, around 40% of brewers already count alcohol-free products among their most important beer styles.

For many brewers, diversification is becoming a necessity rather than an option.

“We have this decrease of alcohol,” Stang explained, “which means that brewers have to do something else.”

Many independent breweries are therefore developing what he described as a “second way to produce money” – expanding into other beverages and revenue streams while maintaining their brewing heritage.

This shift is not unique to Germany. Across Europe, breweries are experimenting with hybrid taprooms, craft soft drinks, distillation and experiential hospitality.

The overriding message from Stang is that adaptation is becoming essential.

Survival remains the priority

Despite their creativity, many independent breweries face difficult trading conditions.

According to the IBE report, more than 60% of member breweries generate annual revenues below €500,000, while three quarters turn over less than €1 million.

Energy prices, taxation, ingredient costs and bureaucracy remain among the biggest challenges.

“The economic situation of the independent breweries remains difficult,” Stang said.

Yet the report also revealed a surprising willingness to invest.

Around 35% of brewers are investing in new equipment, while more than a third are prioritising improvements designed to future-proof their businesses.

Still, survival remains the immediate focus.

“The main thing is they want to survive,” Stang said. “Forty-three per cent say survival is our top priority.”

He summarised the industry’s outlook succinctly.

“Survival is priority number one.”

That message resonated with an audience all too familiar with rising costs, supply chain pressures and changing consumer expectations.

Local roots matter

If independent brewers are small, they are also remarkably embedded in their local communities.

One of the report’s more encouraging findings is the extent to which breweries contribute beyond beer production.

According to Stang, 75% of independent brewers support local causes, while nearly half donate beer or merchandise to charities and community groups.

“These breweries are very stuck to their regions,” he said, before correcting himself. “They are very connected to their regions.”

That connection, he argued, gives independent breweries a distinctive strength.

Unlike multinational corporations, family-owned breweries are often employers, sponsors, cultural ambassadors and social hubs rolled into one.

“Therefore,” he said, “they have a responsibility for the region.”

It is an argument that increasingly resonates with consumers seeking authenticity and local identity.

Small versus global

Another recurring theme throughout Stang’s presentation was the growing dominance of multinational brewing groups.

The challenge, he argued, is not simply competition on price or scale, but access to market.

“The dominance of the global brewers,” he said, is one of the sector’s major concerns.

Large brewers have the resources to secure distribution agreements, own hospitality venues and invest heavily in marketing. For smaller producers, gaining shelf space or tap access can be significantly harder.

This concern partly explains the creation of organisations such as the Independent Brewers of Europe, which seek to provide a collective voice for smaller operators.

The organisation’s mission, Stang argued, is not to oppose growth or innovation, but to preserve diversity.

Independent breweries may be small individually, but together they represent a substantial economic and cultural force.

Why BrauBeviale still matters

The evening presentation was also an opportunity to preview what attendees can expect from this year’s BrauBeviale exhibition.

Stang is more than a visitor to the event. He described himself as a “BrauBeviale veteran”, having attended for more than four decades in various capacities – first as a student, then as a brewmaster, exhibitor, sponsor and now partner.

“This is my second home,” he told the audience.

Private Brauereien Bayern helps shape the brewery-focused programme at the exhibition, which this year will focus on three major themes: product innovation, energy efficiency and technology.

Non-alcoholic beverages are expected to feature prominently, reflecting the trends highlighted in the IBE report.

Stang also pointed to the event’s networking opportunities and the growing prestige of the European Beer Star competition, which takes place alongside the exhibition and has become one of the world’s most respected brewing awards.

So why, he asked rhetorically, should brewers attend?

“It’s a meeting place,” he said. “Everybody in the industry is there.”

The show’s location in Nuremberg, at the heart of Europe’s brewing region, remains a key attraction.

“Tradition meets future,” Stang said.

In many ways, that phrase encapsulated the entire presentation.

A sector learning to adapt

Stefan Stang’s presentation offered no easy answers.

European brewers face declining alcohol consumption, rising costs and increasingly fierce competition. Many are small businesses operating on narrow margins.

Yet the overall message was not one of decline.

Independent brewers are diversifying. They are investing. They are embracing alcohol-free innovation and strengthening their local roots.

Most importantly, they are adapting.

Stang summarised the challenge in a phrase that could serve as a rallying cry for the industry: “Adapt or break.”

For Europe’s independent brewers, reinvention is no longer a future possibility. It has become the business of today.