Czech breweries produced 20.55 million hectolitres of beer last year, an increase of 950,000 hectolitres over the previous twelve months.

Beer consumption per capita has also increased from 129 to 136 litres per year. Although beer output has increased following a two-year fall, it is still approximately one million hectolitres lower than it was in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic reached Czechia.

Non-alcoholic beers, including flavoured versions, increased by 13% year on year to 1.3 million hectolitres.

However, beer sales at pubs are at their lowest level in decades, to data from the national brewers association.

In 2009, nearly half of beer was consumed in pubs and restaurants; last year, the ratio was 31%. Lager, an eleven- to twelve-barrel bottom-fermented beer, remains the most common variety of beer. Lagers make for more than 56% of total production, while draught beer accounts for roughly 40%.

15.6 million hectolitres of beer were sold in the domestic market, one million hectolitres less than in 2019. Czech beer exports climbed by 2% year on year to 5.4 million hectoliters in 2022, matching the level of exports in 2019.

The majority were shipped to Slovakia, Poland, and Germany. Foreign beers account for only 3.4 percent of Czech consumption.

Breweries spun the most brewed beer into classic beer bottles, accounting for 39 percent of total production. Thirty-one percent were bottled in kegs. Cans of beer accounted for 19% of the beer market. The proportion of beers in PET bottles declined from 10% to 8%.

According to the association, beer production is being affected by rising prices, economic uncertainty in the market and changing consumer habits. The share of locally brewed beer sold in pubs and restaurants rose by six per cent last year to 31 per cent of total production. In 2019, it was 35 per cent.

According to the association, changing consumer patterns may have significant ramifications for pubs in smaller towns and villages, where beer accounts for up to half of their revenues.

“Unfortunately, rising prices and economic uncertainty are keeping people at home more, which is having a negative impact on the catering sector, which has yet to fully recover from the pandemic’s harsh effects and is now facing new challenges. Furthermore, the government is currently considering raising VAT on catering services and draft beer, which could be the final nail in the coffin for many pubs,” said Martina Ferencová from the Czech Brewers and Maltsters Association.