Beer Serves Europe

Beer Serves Europe

#BeerServesEurope is an opportunity to reflect on the past, present and future contributions that the brewing sector makes to Europe’s culture and economy, and to discuss the challenges and opportunities for Europe’s breweries. Bringing together stakeholders from the brewing industry and key decision makers in the EU, it’s also an annual chance to look ahead at how brewers are engaging on important legislative files impacting their business.

On November 29th 2023, we celebrated the 10th edition of Beer Serves Europe, a gala event that brought together over 300 EU policymakers, brewing representatives and beer aficionados at The Brewers of Europe House in Brussels. It also served as an opportunity to mark the Spanish Presidency of the EU and present the 2023 of the European Beer Trends Report.

Speaking at the event President of the European Parliament Beer Club, MEP Ivan Štefanec said that beer was helping to power the European economy. “Beer is responsible for 2.6 million direct jobs, but with a multiplier effect of 16 – so for each brewery job there are 16 more jobs created in connected industries like agriculture and transport,” he said, adding that he would continue fighting in the parliament for fairer regulation for beer.

Jorge Villavecchia, Vice-President of the Cerveceros de España and Board Member of The Brewers of Europe, said that beer is rooted in the traditions of Spain. “Beer is part of Spanish culture and the Mediterranean diet. Consumption patterns in Spain are very healthy: every time we drink beer, we do it with people or while we eat,” he said.

The 2023 Edition of the European Beer Trends Report reveals, among other data, that

• beer sales in the European Union rose to 313 million hectolitres in 2022, up from 301 million hl in 2021 and 297 million hl in 2020.
• some 358 million hl of beer was produced by breweries in the EU in 2022, up from 344 million hl in 2021 and 342 million hl in 2020.
• the number of active breweries is up: it rose again in the EU from 9,500 in 2021 to 9,680 in 2022.

Commenting on the figures The Brewers of Europe Head of Operations Simon Spillane said the figures showed that brewers were growing stronger than ever. “We are looking ahead to a future where there is more and more choice in beer styles and flavours, as well as non-alcoholic and lower-alcohol beer. Beer is a beautiful, refreshing drink that brings people together – long may it continue to do so!”