German beer market

I will also say that the level of automation in larger German breweries is very high.

 

And I hear what you are saying but decreasing the amounts of ingredients utilized will save money.

Douglas, I have enjoyed conversing with you here. In my judgement we have completed our discussion on this topic.

Cheers!

 

One form of cost savings that is achieved via the store brand beers would be the lack of advertising on tv and elsewhere. That seems to be the Oettinger modus operandi without them being a store brand, and they are from what I can gather still sticking with rock bottom pricing (looking at online prices of German retailers), this might be easier for a brewery like Oettinger to maintain than for breweries that do advertise.

 

According to a Swedish beer blog focused on German beer news Oettinger's sales dropped by 492 000 HL in 2019. The numbers apparently come from Inside Getränke, but it's behind a paywall. As per a Barth Haas report Oettinger produced 8.5 million HL in 2018.

 

A small brewer told me a lot of foreign malt is used by big breweries. He had an axe to grind, of course. According to him there is not enough German malt to supply all German breweries. When the glyphosate scandal broke a couple of years ago it was the big brands who were found to have significant levels of it in their beer. A few small brewers had their beer analysed to reassure their customers and they had negligible amounts.

 

I would be not be surprised if this is indeed the case. Those big breweries will do whatever it takes to minimize costs so they can maintain the low prices that the German customers apparently demand.

Cheers!

 

In the US a lot of for foreign malt is used. Canada is a prime source. Then Germany and England come to mind.

 

Warsteiner jumping on the Kellerbier trend.
Might pick up a sixpack on sale next week.I dont expect much

 

Blech, I don't like Warsteiner much, all their beers taste to me like iron, even on draft.

 

Is this a big trend in Germany now?

Is there any common method to how the breweries are producing what they brand as Kellerbiers? Are they just adding some color to the beer and choosing to not filter the beers?

Cheers!

 

Das Leben ist zu kurz, um billiges Bier zu trinken.

 

Douglas, can't this be both? Aren't many Franconian Kellerbiers amber in color? For example Mahrs "U":



Cheers!

 

Good stuff, my buddy... at the end of a long day starting at Klosterbrau. Love the hops chandeliers that time of year!

 

It has been on the rise for 3 or 4 years.

I've had ones like "U" which is a little more rustic. Some are unfiltered Helles, that are hazy. I've had a wonderful Keller Pils.

 

I had it now.

It's really more of an unfiltered Amber Lager.

A whopping 12 IBUs.sweetish Honey-malty and nothing else.
Lowest common denominator, just like their Pils.

 

One thing I noticed is that the Kellerbier trend has also picked up in America among craft lager brewers. I saw at three different new additions today which were all Keller or Zwickel. Has this trend gone transatlantic?

 

One thing I've read in Germany concerning the Biermarkt here is that many breweries were able to push through a price increase in 2018, as you can see here, and here, and here. And as of January, 2020, and here, it's seems to have stuck. In March of this year, as it's reported here.
From the website Optimal Banking.de:

They also do a nice breakdown of the costs of a bottle of beer. 50% is transportation, delivery and whatnot! That's due to the Pfand, or deposit program, which is mandatory in Germany, explained in English here. It's hugely inefficient and brewers must participate.

For those who don't know or can't remember, the beer industry was slapped with colluding on raising prices before in 2014, with Bud-Inbev Becks beer division ratting everyone out. The beer industry got caught with its pants down and had to pay a hefty price as well as publicly having egg of its face. This time it seems to be legal and the consumer seems willing to pay, so far. Just wait for the summer price wars, IMO, and the corona thing is not helping.