In 2023 it was said every other day in front of a pub: “The curfew is” – forever. Especially bars where guests drink a lot of beer have to close. This also affects breweries, which are under pressure from inflation and sold less beer in 2023, albeit compared to an exceptional year in 2022, as the sector highlights.
“A decrease of three percent compared to the previous year is a solid result. “Last year there were strong one-off effects,” emphasizes Karl Schwarz, chairman of the brewery association. Inflation is also putting pressure on the purchasing mood. Several breweries recently announced price increases again. The costs for raw materials, energy and personnel are currently high.
2000 fewer beer pubs than ten years ago
The volume of draft beer fell by two percent. “The structural change in the catering industry is causing our industry concerns and headaches,” regrets the brewery chairman. There are about 2,000 fewer beer halls and pubs today than there were ten years ago, about a third fewer. Inns are dying out, especially in rural areas. Classic ‘country inns’ cannot cope with the mix of rising costs, scarce staff and declining sales. Although more than 100 new restaurants were added in 2023, they were located in other catering sectors with correspondingly less beer consumption.
System caterers, for example, are popular. However, hardly any beer is served. Luxury restaurants are also still doing relatively well and are therefore bucking the trend. However, here people often drink less beer and more wine. But thanks to new variants, breweries want to gain an even greater foothold here and not just serve a ‘whistle’ as an aperitif.
The year 2023 was also satisfactory in the tourist regions. “There were very strong fluctuations in sales during the year,” says Schwarz. After an exceptionally good first quarter, consumption fell by nine percent in the spring compared to the year before, only to recover halfway through the second half of the year, because the thirst for beer was again very great in the summer months.
A “future market” is non-alcoholic beer. Austria currently has a share of around three percent, but the target is five percent, which is roughly the European average. Many breweries are currently converting production here; Technology makes it increasingly easier to brew alcohol-free beer.
Whether with or without alcohol: Due to the reusable quota introduced this year, a new glass bottle for 0.33 liter packaging has been introduced this year. It is very light and based on the 0.5 liter bottle. From next year, can credits will also be available to retailers and the industry.
Whether customers in supermarkets will choose more glass instead of aluminum is the “contest” and cannot yet be predicted, says Schwarz: “In Germany we saw that sales of cans fell sharply after the introduction, but then returned to the same level as before the introduction. That.”
Breweries want a higher deposit on bottles
The deposit in Austria should then be 25 cents. For bottles it is currently 9 cents. However, the sector is calling on politicians to increase this down payment. Because it hasn’t been touched in decades. Even when converted to the euro, the Schilling price at the time was simply converted and is still valid. An increase to 25 cents would be desirable. Currently, too many glass bottles end up in the trash.
To moderate price increases, Schwarz would like to see a reduction in beer taxes. In international comparison, this is too high at 24 euros per hectoliter; in Germany this is only about half. “That drives the beer price up even further,” said the chairman.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
