Overview

• Family-run Hütt-Brauerei in North Hesse announced it is shutting down after 270 years, with owner Frank Bettenhäuser citing his age and the lack of a successor as he begins the closure process.
• Oettinger plans to stop beer production at its Braunschweig site next year, and CEO Stefan Blaschak warns the sector faces a wave of bankruptcies that could affect small and large brewers.
• The industry has shifted from a long-term 2–3% annual decline to a sharper drop this year, with the first half losing about 2.6 million hectoliters in domestic sales, roughly equal to three million cans per day.
• Industry groups point to changing drinking habits among younger consumers, rising personnel, raw material and energy costs, a weak consumer climate, strained gastronomy, and export headwinds from U.S. tariffs.
• Beer-mix beverages grew about 8% in the first half to roughly a 5.6% market share, and producers are pivoting toward non-alcoholic and soft drinks, including new fortified beverages at Oettinger.