Last year, beer consumption fell in the Czech Republic

Last year, Czech breweries brewed almost 7% less beer than in 2019. Consumption per capita also fell, which was even the lowest in more than five decades. This was stated on Tuesday by representatives of the Czech Association of Breweries and Malthouses. According to the association, whose information was published by the daily iDNES.cz, Czech breweries brewed 20.1 million hectoliters of beer last year. Compared to the previous year, beer production decreased by 6.9%. Beer consumption per capita has decreased to 135 liters, which is at least since the 60s of last century. According to the association, the decline in production is due to anti-pandemic restrictions, which have also affected the operation of restaurants in the Czech Republic and abroad. On the contrary, in 2019 production was a record and reached 21.6 million hectoliters. As stated by the chairman of the association, František Šámal, he has not experienced such a situation yet. "I don't remember the inns and restaurants being that bad," he said. According to him, the crisis is reflected not only in trade losses, but also in the fates of people who guard the brewing tradition as a national treasure. A quarter of beers drank in restaurants last year, in 2019 it was a third. According to the association, 500 inns have closed down, and hundreds more are expected this year. According to the association, not only the closure of restaurants, but also the ban on alcohol consumption in public or the disruption of sports and cultural events have a negative impact on the sector. Last year, for the first time in nine years, exports also fell. The decrease reached 381 million to approximately 5 million hectoliters. A significant decrease in consumption is felt especially by small breweries. They produce less beer and are more expensive to operate. "Last year, the total production decreased by about 8%, but the production in mini-breweries by up to 30%," said the president of the Czech-Moravian Association of Mini-Breweries Jan Šuráň. For these breweries, this means a huge economic downturn.