If you’re like the many who think of Germany as the beer capital of the world and assume it’s the largest producer and consumer of beer in the world, it will likely come as a shock that Germany is no longer even the top producer in Europe, and ranks only 6th in the world.
In figures supplied by BarthHaas, the world’s largest hop trader, Russia pulled ahead of Germany, which had held European first place since 2013. Russia’s production has risen sharply because sanctions have limited imports, leaving Germany in 2nd place in Europe.
German breweries churned out over 7 billion liters in 2024, a 6.3% drop, caused in part by decreasing per capita consumption, both in Germany and in its export markets.
Overall, the top ten beer-making countries are China, with over 34 billion liters, nearly double the U.S. production of 18 billion. Brazil and Mexico take the next two spots, followed by Russia and Germany, then Japan, UK, Poland and Spain.
