Belgian beer consumption fell 3.2 percent in 2025 to 6.2 million hectolitres (620 million litres), while beer below 0.5 percent alcohol grew 32 percent in volume, according to the annual report of the Belgian Brewers federation (Brasseurs belges) presented on 17 June 2026. The growth of alcohol-free beer is real, and it remains too small to offset the fall in beer that contains alcohol.
The report counts two segments that are easy to confuse. Beer below 0.5 percent alcohol rose 32 percent, while beer of up to 3.5 percent alcohol, a wider category that contains the first, rose 17 percent and holds a 6.5 percent market share. This page reads each figure with its definition and its base attached, and adds the arithmetic that the press coverage leaves out.
How much beer did Belgium drink in 2025?
Belgium consumed 6.2 million hectolitres of beer in 2025, equal to 620 million litres, a fall of 3.2 percent from 2024. The previous year had already dropped 2.1 percent to 6.4 million hectolitres. Over ten years the decline reaches about 20 percent, and over twenty years 34 percent, in the figures relayed by Belga.
The 2025 result is the third consecutive fall. The federation reported a 6 percent decline for 2023 and 2.1 percent for 2024, so the three annual rates compound to roughly 11 percent between the end of 2022 and the end of 2025 (calculated here from the three published rates). The alcohol-free segment grew inside a category that has been shrinking without interruption since at least 2023.
Where did the decline hit hardest, cafés or supermarkets?
Cafés and restaurants lost more volume than supermarkets in 2025: down 4.1 percent against 2.6 percent. The on-trade therefore shrank about 1.6 times as fast as retail. The same ordering held a year earlier, when the federation reported 2.9 percent for cafés and restaurants and 1.5 percent for large retail.
| Segment | Change in volume, 2025 vs 2024 (%) | Definition or base |
|---|---|---|
| Total beer consumption | -3.2 | 6.2 million hl, all beer sold in Belgium |
| Cafés and restaurants | -4.1 | On-trade volumes |
| Supermarkets | -2.6 | Large retail volumes |
| Beer below 0.5 percent alcohol | +32 | Alcohol-free, as defined in the report |
| Beer of up to 3.5 percent alcohol | +17 | Low-alcohol category, includes the alcohol-free beers |
The table mixes decreases and increases on purpose: the four rows below the total are not parts of a sum. The two channel rows describe where beer is sold, and the two strength rows describe what kind of beer is sold, so each pair overlaps with the other and with the total.
A volume share depends on who counts the volume and where the line for alcohol-free is drawn.
What do alcohol-free and low-alcohol mean in the Belgian figures?
In the report, alcohol-free means beer below 0.5 percent alcohol by volume, and low-alcohol means beer of up to 3.5 percent, a category that includes the alcohol-free beers. The 32 percent growth belongs to the first group. The 17 percent growth and the 6.5 percent market share belong to the second.
The range tells a different story from the volumes. About 120 of the roughly 1,600 beers sold in Belgium are alcohol-free, which is 7.5 percent of the range (calculated here), and that count was described as above 100 a year earlier. A share of the range and a share of the volume are separate measures, and neither stands in for the other.
One detail is rarely repeated. The 2024 coverage of the federation's report cited YouGov data putting non-alcoholic beer at 8.8 percent of beer volumes purchased. A 2025 share of 6.5 percent for a wider category, which includes alcohol-free beer, is lower than a 2024 share for the narrower one. The two numbers come from different bodies and different methods, neither source publishes a bridge between them, and the series cannot be chained into a trend.
Why does 32 percent growth not compensate for the decline?
A growth rate of 32 percent applied to a small base adds less volume than a 3.2 percent fall removes from a large one. The federation states that the progress of alcohol-free beer does not compensate for the fall in consumption. No absolute alcohol-free volume appears in the coverage, so the exact gap cannot be taken from the report.
An order of magnitude can be calculated with one stated assumption: that the 6.5 percent share applies to the 6.2 million hectolitres of total consumption. On that basis the low-alcohol category, which contains the alcohol-free beers, represents about 403,000 hectolitres in 2025 and about 344,000 hectolitres in 2024, a gain near 59,000 hectolitres. Total consumption fell by about 205,000 hectolitres over the same period.
| Quantity | Volume (hectolitres) | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Total consumption, 2025 | 6,200,000 | Published figure |
| Total consumption, 2024 (implied) | about 6,405,000 | Calculated from the 3.2 percent fall |
| Fall in total consumption | about 205,000 | Calculated |
| Low-alcohol category, 2025 | about 403,000 | 6.5 percent of 6.2 million hl (assumption) |
| Low-alcohol category, 2024 (implied) | about 344,000 | Calculated from the 17 percent rise |
| Gain in the low-alcohol category | about 59,000 | Calculated |
The gain in the low-alcohol category covers roughly 29 percent of the fall in total consumption. Because that category includes the alcohol-free beers, beer that contains alcohol must have lost more than the headline 205,000 hectolitres, close to 264,000 hectolitres on the same assumption. These are indicative calculations, not published statistics.
What does the rest of the sector look like behind the headline?
Belgium counts 395 breweries after several closures, against 411 at the end of 2024, while investment rose to 213 million euros from 178 million euros. Exports reached 14.4 million hectolitres, more than twice domestic consumption, and exports outside the EU fell 14 percent to 1.8 million hectolitres (180 million litres).
Exports to the United States dropped to 183,000 hectolitres (18.3 million litres), a roughly tenfold decline in five years according to the coverage in Paris Match Belgique, while exports to Spain rose 10 percent to 2.2 million hectolitres. The sector represents about 1 percent of Belgian GDP. Krishan Maudgal, director general of the federation, said: "La Belgique reste la référence en matière de bière pour le client étranger, mais pas à n'importe quel prix", a remark placed in the context of export pressure.
The federation also opposes a draft royal decree that would change the health warning in alcohol advertising, a reform covered on the page on Belgium's alcohol advertising warning. The reform and the volume figures belong to the same debate about how moderate drinking is framed.
What do the Belgian figures not establish?
They establish a direction and an order of magnitude, not a market size. The coverage of the report publishes no absolute volume of alcohol-free beer, no split between draught and packaged beer, and no consumer data on who is switching. Every percentage compares 2025 with 2024 and carries no projection.
The 6.5 percent share also cannot be placed beside the EU figure of 8.2 percent, which counts alcohol-free beer alone and is analysed on the page on the 2026 European figures. Belgium still has no official national share for strictly alcohol-free beer. The original report was not read directly for this page: the figures come from three outlets relaying it on the same day, and they agree on every number used here.
How much beer did Belgians drink in 2025?
6.2 million hectolitres, or 620 million litres, down 3.2 percent from 2024, according to the Belgian Brewers' annual report presented on 17 June 2026. The 2024 total was 6.4 million hectolitres, down 2.1 percent, so 2025 is the third consecutive annual decline.
How much did alcohol-free beer grow in Belgium in 2025?
Volumes of beer below 0.5 percent alcohol rose 32 percent from 2024. The report publishes no absolute volume in the coverage reviewed, so the growth rate cannot be converted into hectolitres without an assumption about the base.
What share of the Belgian beer market is low-alcohol?
6.5 percent in 2025, for beer of up to 3.5 percent alcohol, a category that includes alcohol-free beer and grew 17 percent in volume. The share does not isolate strictly alcohol-free beer, so it cannot be compared with the 8.2 percent EU figure.
Did cafés or supermarkets lose more beer volume in 2025?
Cafés and restaurants, with a fall of 4.1 percent against 2.6 percent in supermarkets. The on-trade also fell faster in 2024, with 2.9 percent against 1.5 percent in large retail.
How much beer did Belgians drink in 2025?
6.2 million hectolitres, or 620 million litres, down 3.2 percent from 2024, according to the Belgian Brewers' annual report presented on 17 June 2026. The 2024 total was 6.4 million hectolitres, down 2.1 percent, so 2025 is the third consecutive annual decline.
How much did alcohol-free beer grow in Belgium in 2025?
Volumes of beer below 0.5 percent alcohol rose 32 percent from 2024. The report publishes no absolute volume in the coverage reviewed, so the growth rate cannot be converted into hectolitres without an assumption about the base.
What share of the Belgian beer market is low-alcohol?
6.5 percent in 2025, for beer of up to 3.5 percent alcohol, a category that includes alcohol-free beer and grew 17 percent in volume. The share does not isolate strictly alcohol-free beer, so it cannot be compared with the 8.2 percent EU figure.
Did cafés or supermarkets lose more beer volume in 2025?
Cafés and restaurants, with a fall of 4.1 percent against 2.6 percent in supermarkets. The on-trade also fell faster in 2024, with 2.9 percent against 1.5 percent in large retail.
Sources
- La Libre / Belga, 17 June 2026, La progression du sans alcool ne compense pas la baisse de la consommation de bière: total consumption 6.2 million hl, down 3.2 percent, cafés and restaurants down 4.1 percent, large retail down 2.6 percent, beer below 0.5 percent up 32 percent, beer of up to 3.5 percent up 17 percent with a 6.5 percent share, about 120 alcohol-free beers among 1,600, 395 breweries, investment of 213 million euros against 178 million, exports outside the EU down 14 percent to 1.8 million hl. Consulted 12 October 2026.
- The Brussels Times / Belga, 17 June 2026, Belgians are drinking less beer and alcohol-free brews are not filling the gap: same figures, definitions of alcohol-free (below 0.5 percent) and low-alcohol (up to 3.5 percent), exports of 14.4 million hl, release attributed to the Belgian Brewers federation. Consulted 12 October 2026.
- Paris Match Belgique / Belga, 17 June 2026, Pourquoi la consommation de la bière pression diminue en Belgique: decline of 34 percent over twenty years and 20 percent over ten years, United States exports of 183,000 hl, Spain at 2.2 million hl, sector at about 1 percent of GDP, remark by Krishan Maudgal, opposition to the draft royal decree on the health warning. Consulted 12 October 2026.
- La DH / Belga, 5 June 2025, Mauvaise nouvelle pour le secteur brassicole: la consommation de bière à nouveau en recul en Belgique: 2024 consumption of 6.4 million hl, down 2.1 percent, cafés and restaurants down 2.9 percent, retail down 1.5 percent, 411 breweries at the end of 2024, investment of 178 million euros, 2023 decline of 6 percent, non-alcoholic beer at 8.8 percent of volumes purchased according to YouGov. Consulted 12 October 2026.
- Calculated figures (implied 2024 total, hectolitre volumes of the low-alcohol category, 7.5 percent of range, 11 percent compound decline) are derived on this page from the published rates and are not statistics published by the federation. The annual report of the Belgian Brewers federation was not consulted directly.
Belgian beer volume fell for the third year running in 2025, and alcohol-free beer grew 32 percent without reversing the trend. The arithmetic suggests that the wider low-alcohol category recovers under a third of the volume lost, and that beer containing alcohol fell by more than the 3.2 percent headline.
zeroproof.one follows the Belgian and European figures as they are published, with definitions attached. The Journal holds the reference pages on thresholds, labels and national markets.