With an average intake of 145 litres each, Germans remain the biggest drinkers of beer in Europe, according to a new report from market analysts Mintel, some 20 litres ahead of the Brits.
But the demographics of current German beer drinkers suggest that this centuries-long attachment to the brewing industry (the Rheinheitsgebot, Germany's beer purity law, dates back to 1516) could be on the wane.
Young German consumers are far more sophisticated than previous generations, and beer has an increasingly old fashioned image among many young drinkers. While the purity law has allowed brewers to maintain the quality of their output for nearly 500 years, it has also hamstrung them when it comes to developing new flavours and styles of beer - something which brewers in other mature markets such as the US have embraced wholeheartedly in a bid to stimulate growth.
Many of these innovations - such as light or low-carb beers - have been designed in part to attract more female drinkers to what has traditionally been a male-dominated market - another key factor in stimulating growth. But old habits die hard in Germany, which has one of the lowest proportions of female beer drinkers in Europe - 29 per cent of women drink beer there compared to 75 per cent of men. In countries such as Spain and the UK, the proportion of female beer drinkers is more than 40 per cent, according to Mintel.
This is in part due to the fact that Germany women account for a much lower share of the workforce than in other western European nations, Mintel's Michelle Strutton suggests. "After work socialising is a big opportunity for drinking alcohol and many German women will simply be missing out on this," she said.
Health is also likely to play a major role in the future development (or lack of it) in the German beer market. Almost one in five (17 per cent) German adults believe the point of drinking is to get drunk, according to the Mintel report, the highest level in Europe and more than twice the proportion of adults in Britain (8 per cent) who feel this way - despite the fact that Britain is much more likely to be viewed as a nation of binge drinkers.
This unhealthy approach to beer, shared by a relatively large proportion of drinkers, has persistently overshadowed the efforts of brewers to highlight the positives of moderate beer consumption in order to appeal to younger consumers.
Western European consumers (in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK) spent €59 million on beer in 2003, with Germany accounting for 40 per cent of that total, just ahead of the UK with 39 per cent. But it is countries such as Spain and Italy, where volume and value sales remain the lowest, which have the greatest potential, according to Mintel.
"In the UK, Germany and France, falling alcohol consumption and the rising popularity of deep discounting in the off-trade have damaged both volume and value sales," said Strutton. "Italy and Spain, which have relatively smaller markets, have seen sales boosted by good weather and flourishing tourism industries, as well as rising interest in beer."
Indeed, Mintel predicts that Italy will be the fastest growing beer market between now and 2007, with value sales expected to rise from €2.8 billion to €3.2 billion.
"Drinking socially is a relatively new phenomenon in Italy, where alcohol was traditionally an accompaniment to meals. Italy is now attempting to emulate the successful British market through encouraging people to drink in pubs and bars. A large number of pubs and other drink-oriented night-spots have opened in recent years and are targeted at urban-dwelling students and professionals who are most likely to drink beer and to go out," Strutton said.
The outlook for Germany, on the other hand, is far from promising, with consumption declining and both market value and volume expected to remain static at best in the next four years.
"Beer is such an ingrained part of German tradition that it is hard to envisage any demise in its dominance. But heavy drinkers have been forced to cut down on consumption due to decreasing levels of disposable income and price increases. As with other countries growing awareness of health and also stricter drink-driving laws will also have an effect," Strutton added.