Description
List of the 5 largest Beer Breweries in Germany
Germany is a country of beer. The Bavarian Purity Law for Beer Brewing of 1516 is the oldest law still in force in this country. Currently there are still more than 1,500 breweries in Germany. Many of them are small and micro companies with a regionally limited market. But there are also really big beer breweries. Here are the TOP 5:
1. Radeberger Gruppe KG, Frankfurt
The Radeberger Gruppe is the largest brewery conglomerate in Germany and part of the Oetker Group. In addition to brewing beer, it is also active as a manufacturer of non-alcoholic beverages, a beverage wholesaler, a provider of system solutions for the catering trade, route logistics provider, retailer (Getränke Hoffmann) and express delivery service. The origins of the Oetker beer business go back to 1952, when the majority of shares in the Binding brewery were acquired. In 2002 the Binding Gruppe was renamed the Radeberger Gruppe. It includes over a dozen breweries throughout Germany. The most famous beer brands are “Hasen-Bräu”, “Berliner Pilsner”, “Tucher Bräu”, “Berliner Kind” and “Berliner Bürgerbräu”. The Selters-Mineralquelle in Selters an der Lahn also belongs to the group.
Update 2023: The private brewery group draws a positive conclusion from the past year. The brewery was able to win back and gain relevant market shares, especially for non-alcoholic beers (Radeberger Alkoholfrei) and in the pale lager segment (Oberdorfer).
2. Anheuser-Busch InBev Germany Holding GmbH, Bremen
Anheuser-Busch InBev is the world’s largest brewery group and was created in 2008 when the Belgian-Brazilian InBev group took over the American brewer Anheuser-Busch. The worldwide turnover in 2019 was 52.3 billion US dollars. Anheuser-Busch InBev Germany brings together the group’s German breweries, which operate as separate subsidiaries: Brewery Beck GmbH & Co. KG, Brauerei Diebels GmbH & Co. KG, Hasseröder Brauerei GmbH and Spaten-Löwenbräu GmbH. In terms of beer output, Anheuser-Busch InBev Germany describes itself as number 2 on the German market.
3. Krombacher Brauerei Bernhard Schadeberg GmbH & Co.KG, Kreuztal-Krombach
The history of the Krombacher brewery began as early as 1803 with the brewing of a local restaurant. Over the following decades, this developed into an important regional brewery. However, Krombacher did not become one of the largest brewers in Germany until the 1950s. Today the company has about 1,000 employees. In addition to various beers under the “Krombacher” brand, the company owns the “Vitamalz” brand and the German distribution rights for “Schweppes”, “Dr. Pepper” and “Orangina”.
4. Bitburger Brewery Group, Bitburg
The Bitburger Braugruppe is a sister company of Bitburger Holding GmbH and combines the “beer activities” of the Simon family of entrepreneurs. The bracket for both sisters is formed by Th. Simon GmbH & Co. KG. The origins of the company go back to the year 1817. At that time the Bitburger brewery was founded in Bitburg in the Eifel region, which still forms the core company of the brewery group. Over time, various breweries were added: Köstritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei in 1991, Wernesgrüner Brauerei in 2002, König-Brauerei in Duisburg in 2004 and Licher Privatbrauerei 1854. The brewery group employs a total of around 1,700 people.
Update 2024: As is well known, the UEFA EURO will be held in Germany in 2024. Bitburger will be the official beer partner of the event, as was already announced in 2023.
5. Oettinger Brauerei GmbH, Oettingen
The history of the Oettinger Brauerei began as the Fürstliches Brauhaus zu Oettingen. In 1956 the company was taken over by the Kollmar family, who themselves have a long brewing tradition. Oettinger Brauerei is still a family-owned business and produces in Gotha, Mönchengladbach and Braunschweig, in addition to the Oettingen headquarters. In contrast to other breweries, Oettinger Brauerei has become successful through direct sales – the direct supply of supermarkets, beverage markets and petrol stations. In addition to a wide range of beers under the “Oettinger” brand, supermarkets’ private labels are also supplied with Oettinger beer.
Importance of brewing industry for the food sector
The German food and beverage industry is significantly influenced by the most important breweries, which are spread all over Germany. Since identifying the largest beer producers in Germany is a laborious task, we have taken a close look at the market and compiled a comprehensive overview of the industry. Especially for sales managers our database is worth its weight in gold and makes their work much easier. Our satisfied customers include in particular machine and plant manufacturers from the food industry, relevant suppliers, strategy consultants and investors.
This information is included in the database
- Company name
- General contact data (address, e-mail address, telephone number, URL)
- Name of the management
- Serial letter suitable for addressing the management (e.g. “Dear Dr. Müller”)
- Sales figures for the years 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015 (taken from the annual and consolidated financial statements)
- Employee figures for the years 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018 (taken from the annual and consolidated financial statements)
- Sector classification & Field of activity
Note: If the sales and employee figures are not included in a company’s own financial statements but in the parent company’s consolidated financial statements, the data from the respective consolidated financial statements are provided.
Picture source: Daniel Vogel, Missy Fant via Unsplash
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