Spain is now Europe’s second-largest beer producer, behind Germany. The country is also a country where people drink beer, boosted by a rebound in the tourism sector in 2022.
With over 41 million hectoliters of beer produced, the equivalent of 1,645 Olympic-sized swimming pools, Spain is now Europe’s second-largest beer producer. But Spaniards are also drinkers, with an average of 58 liters of beer per capita in 2022, equivalent to 15cL per day.
According to a study by Cerveceros de Espana, Spain’s brewers’ association, in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, beer consumption has reached its highest level in over ten years, with 42 million hectoliters consumed in 2022.
It accounts for an increase of nearly 20 percent compared to the 35 million hectoliters drunk in 2012.
The report explains this increase to a number of factors, including tourism. The number of tourists doubled between 2021, a year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2022. Average consumption now stands at 58 liters per capita, making it the fourth highest in Europe behind the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria, according to Statista.
Other factors behind Spain’s record figures include the high temperatures of 2022 and the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which beer consumption at home increased.
Beer is consumed 90% of the time with meals, according to Cerveceros de Espana, which believes that beer is an integral part of the Mediterranean diet, an argument often put forward by the alcohol industry against the harms of alcohol consumption.
As alcohol consumption increases, so does Spain’s beer production. Indeed, Spain is now Europe’s second-largest beer producer, with 41 million hectoliters, well behind Germany and its 85 million hectoliters per year. Spain is the world’s ninth-largest beer producer.
In addition to the increase in domestic consumption, exports rose by 13.4% compared to 2021, for a total of 4.2 million hectoliters sold abroad.
Spain’s beer industry is a non-neglectable part of the country’s economy, generating 9 billion euros (10 million dollars) in tax revenue for the government. The sector also employs, directly and indirectly, some 450,000 people.
These rising beer consumption figures testify to a rebound in the Spanish tourism sector, which had seen its visitor numbers fall between 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it has now picked up again, doubling the number of tourists between 2021 and 2022.
