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🇧🇪 Belgium /Economy & Trade

Belgium Drops Out of Europe’s Top Five Beer Producers Because Alcohol-Free Data Was Missing

From VRT NWS · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • Belgium ranked sixth in the European Union’s 2025 beer-production table after Eurostat included alcohol-free beer but apparently received no Belgian data for that category.
  • France moved into fifth place because it reported alcohol-free production, while Germany remained the leading producer with 7.4 billion liters.
  • Spain’s beer production rose by almost a quarter, contrasting with declines across most European countries.

Belgium has slipped out of the European Union’s top five beer-producing countries for the first time, but not because Belgian breweries suddenly made less beer. The change came after Eurostat added alcohol-free beer to its annual ranking and apparently received no Belgian figures for that category.

Countries that supplied alcohol-free production data had those figures added to their totals. France did so, and that was enough to push Belgium from fifth place to sixth in the full ranking. The figures measure beer brewed within each country, not the output of national brands produced abroad. Large brewers such as AB InBev make Belgian brands around the world, but that international production does not count toward Belgium’s domestic total.

Spain has traditionally been a wine country, but beer is becoming more popular there.

· MaudgalExplaining Spain’s rise in beer production.

Germany remained Europe’s clear leader, producing 7.4 billion liters of beer last year and accounting for more than a fifth of EU production. Its high output reflects both its large population and high per-capita consumption. The EU produced about 34 billion liters overall, although production has been declining in most member states.

In the Mediterranean climate it can be served cold. And a beer bottle is smaller than a wine bottle, which is convenient for smaller serving sizes.

· MaudgalDescribing factors behind beer’s growing popularity in Spain.

Spain is the striking exception. Its production increased by almost a quarter since 2024 and has been rising for years. Spain overtook Poland in 2022, even though it is traditionally associated with wine. Maudgal said beer was gaining popularity in Spain because it can be served cold in the Mediterranean climate, while smaller bottles suit smaller servings. Brewers, she said, have positioned it as a popular new drink.

The market also benefits from tourism. Spain counted almost 100 million visitors in 2025, and the country hosts production facilities for several major brewers while exporting a substantial share of its beer. Belgium’s removal from the top five therefore reflects both a change in the ranking and a missing data point, while Spain continues to move against Europe’s wider decline.

Brewers are responding well by positioning beer as the new popular drink.

· MaudgalAssessing how brewers are promoting beer in Spain.
About this summary

Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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