Germans’ thirst for beer is waning – it’s no longer cool to be drunk | Nicholas Potter

TThe first cliché that comes to mind when many people think of Germany is thigh-thumping oompah music, embroidered lederhosen and, above all, gallon-sized mugs of beer. And Germany’s beer culture is best embodied by Munich’s Oktoberfest. Millions of revellers descend on the Bavarian capital every September for 16 days of drinking, pretzel and bratwurst. But it’s a cliché that doesn’t fit modern Germany, where abstinence is on the rise – and drinking is on the decline.

One example is Die Null (The Zero). Ahead of this year’s world-famous beer festival on September 21, a new alcohol-free beer garden has opened in the heart of the city, inaugurated by the mayor of Munich himself. The venue serves a variety of non-alcoholic drinks, from mocktails to alcohol-free pilsner.

It is the latest in a series of down-to-earth initiatives in the country, which reflect a broader trend in German society: Beer consumption has been steadily declining since the 1990s and now averages just 88 liters per capita per year, compared to almost 143 liters after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The decline is also noticeable at Oktoberfest itself: in 2019, 6.3 million visitors drank around 7.3 million liters. Last year, a record 7.2 million people attended, but a relatively meager 6.5 million liters were drunk.

In a sign of the changing times, Augustiner – Munich’s oldest brewery, a partner of Die Null as well as a mainstay of Oktoberfest – launched an alcohol-free light for the first time in its long history.

But alcohol-free beer is hardly a new development in Germany. While international craft breweries have been coming up with hoppy, hangover-free brews, sometimes with patronizing names (BrewDog’s are called Nanny State or Punk AF), the Germans have been marketing alcohol-free beers as vitamin-packed, isotonic drinks to enjoy after exercise – even if the idea of ​​gym-goers chugging an Erdinger Alkoholfrei post-workout seems strange to people in the UK.

According to the German Federal Statistical Office, the production of alcohol-free beer (classified as containing less than 0.5% alcohol) increased by 74% between 2011 and 2021 and is now drunk by around 46% of Germans. But this trend is also largely generational. Germany’s Gen Z is less interested in alcohol than its parents: just 24% drink beer regularlycompared to 33% among Millennials and 35% among Gen X. A similar decline is seen in wine.

This phenomenon is far from limited to the beer tents of Oktoberfest, but extends to Berlin’s notoriously hedonistic techno scene. Some clubs have even said that falling alcohol consumption is hurting their bottom line. Meanwhile, queer club Schwuz now regularly hosts a “sober party.” And the long-running techno festival Nation of Gondwana has a “sober bar” (though harder substances are still a staple of dancefloor marathons).

There are many reasons for this shift. Younger people are more aware and critical of alcoholism, functional or otherwise, having seen the damage that addiction has done to generations before them. Many are focusing more on health and exercise, as they are all too aware of the negative effects and high calorie count of alcoholic beverages. The Covid pandemic has undoubtedly accelerated this trend. Furthermore, the cost of living crisis, coupled with the economic fallout from the pandemic, has caused many young people to tighten their wallets for nights out.

But most of all, in many younger social circles, it’s simply not cool to be drunk anymore. Lairy behavior is a faux pas, even in an otherwise uninhibited techno temple like Berghain (perhaps Berlin’s most celebrated yet exclusive club). And with a far more exciting range of non-alcoholic beverages to enjoy than just Sprite or Coca-Cola (think rhubarb spritzer or iced mate tea), it’s never been easier to cut back on alcohol consumption – or abstain altogether.

Germany isn’t alone. In fact, the number of Americans who smoke cannabis daily or almost daily now exceeds the number of daily drinkers, according to research published this year in the journal Addiction. Since Germany partially decriminalized cannabis in April, a similar trend could follow.

Munich’s alcohol-free Die Null experiment will be shutting down on the eve of this year’s Oktoberfest. But a sustained decline in excessive drinking would be a welcome change from the usual booze-fueled violence.

Last year, an organization that aims to protect women and girls at the festival reported daily incidents of sexual abuse. On the last day a group of men armed with beer mugs came attacked guards after one was thrown out of a tent. In another incident, a man gave the Hitler salute and then hit a guest at a neighboring table in the face – just one of many cases of drunk attendees using Nazi symbols last year.

Unfortunately, this is also the “German beer culture”. And now that the thirst for beer is waning, it is high time to issue the final orders on the rude, sexist and racist behavior that has long accompanied it.