• Germany edition
Photo: DPA

Beer consumption hits 20-year low

Published: 28 Jan 10 14:38 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100128-24883.html

Germans may be famous around the world for their beer, but they drank less of the amber nectar in 2009 than at any time in the past 20 years, according to official statistics published on Thursday.

Sales of German beer, which includes the likes of Becks, Warsteiner, Radeberger and countless other brands, dropped to just under 100 hectolitres (2.2 billion gallons) in 2009, a fall of 2.8 percent on the previous year.

There has been a steady downward trend in beer sales in Germany, with a small blip in 2006, when the football World Cup, hosted by Germany, boosted consumption.

Peter Hahn, from the German Brewers Federation, said he hoped the World Cup in South Africa this year, would once again spur Germans to enjoy a few cold ones.

"We hope that the weather this year will again play ball, that Germany does well at the World Cup and that plenty of people go to the pub or beer garden to watch the matches with a good beer," Hahn said.

The federation blamed the desperate economic situation in Germany last year for the decline. Germany, Europe's top economy, suffered a five percent contraction in 2009, the worst slump since World War II.

A longer-term trend towards less manual work and more office-based employment had also reduced Germans' after-hours thirst, the federation said.

AFP/The Local (news@thelocal.de)

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Your comments about this article:

#1
16:14 January 28, 2010 by Happybabe
it is nice to know that people are drinking less alcohol which is a curse for human being
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#2
17:48 January 28, 2010 by fritzwiz
Lori and I were in Germany for three weeks last year, and did our best to consume as much as possible. It was a pleasure and we look forward to returning. We did notice a lot of wine in the stores, has German wine consumption gone up?
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#3
02:22 January 29, 2010 by Meringer
My apologies to the German citizens. I was unable to make it over this year and therefore was not able to consume my usual levels. I did however, purchase as much imported beer as possible. Unfortunately, my local supplier no longer is able to get FranzisKaner and so my consumption here has also fallen a bit.

HAPPYBABE: Alcohol is a blessing to human beings and not a curse, the Bible even talks of the benefit of alcohol and exthorts you to drink it for you ailments. The curse is the foolish people who cannot handle alcohol properly, but then there are people that abuse all sorts of things, not just alcohol.
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#4
11:28 January 29, 2010 by Happybabe
I completely disagree.

Pls type in the google:

1. Alcohol linked to cancer risk in woman

2. Alcohol activates cellular changes that make tumor cells spread

Pls dont refer to Bible for scientic matters. Bible is full of unscientic information and contradiction as well. if you wanna know write your email address i wll send you those information with clear reference from Bible. May God help you to keep urself away from alcohol which kills you.
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#5
11:44 January 29, 2010 by michael4096
Alcohol is a poison. So is most medicine. The good news is that they're poison to bacteria and other nasties also. So over many thousands of years, people have worked out that drinking alcohol or adding it to water is healthier than drinking water by itself because the body handles alcohol better that some of the bugs in the water.

As always, books written 2000 years ago reflected the life and knowledge at that time.
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#6
12:10 January 29, 2010 by OkieinBerlin
Maybe this decline can be attibuted to market dominance by a handful of really mediocre beers, while so many really outstanding regional and local beers are overlooked. What a pity. In the meantime, I'm not going to reduce my consumption any. Bottoms up!
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#7
12:36 January 29, 2010 by Happybabe
@michael4086

Please dont misguide people. if you want to make problem for urself drink alcohol but should not justify it based on assumptions. I go for science , truth and reality, why to care something written 2000 years back if it is not compatible or worthwhile now. Drink alcohol if doctor prescribes your for specific problems. I would suggest you to read articles i mentioned above and think. thanx
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#8
13:02 January 29, 2010 by michael4096
@Happybabe

I agree people should read and think. I would suggest that you read my comment and think before replying. thanx
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#9
18:39 January 30, 2010 by lordwilliams629
Alcohol in large amounts is only a weakness and reckless way of exscaping the realitys of life.
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