Bavaria is once more on top in Germany when it comes to beer. Breweries of the Free State have produce one fourth of German beer in 2015 and are thereby slightly ahead of the breweries of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Bavarian breweries are also the leading export breweries. Over 30% of the German beer exports is being brewed in the State. The popularity of German beer abroad is what save the breweries from a decrease in sales in 2015. The domestic beer consumption sunk by 0.7% to a record low of 89.5 million hectolitres, but cumulated with a small rise in exports, the total beer sales have risen by 0.1% to a total of 95.7 million hectolitres, according to numbers from the German Federal Office of Statistics.

The German Brewery Association is satisfied with the numbers since 2015 was a year without major sports events. The industry expects much more of the current year due to the UEFA Championship in France and other sports events and of the 500 year jubilee of the German Beer Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot) which will be marked by a number of festivals, and celebrations. Munich will have its own jubilee celebration and you can find out all about the Festival 500 Years of Bavarian Beer Purity Law, Munich July 22-24 2016 here.