The head of sales Erdinger Weißbräu brewery thinks beer is way too cheap. Against the background of exploding energy costs, beer should become much more expensive, said Josef Westermeier on the news portal “t-online” (May 26, 2022). “Theoretically, a crate of wheat beer could three to four euros more expensive will. Exactly when is open.” It depends on the trade whether customers will ultimately have to dig deeper into their pockets.
The prices for beer have risen less than for other products in recent years. “Shoes, cars and so on are much more expensive these days. Only groceries and beer cost almost the same, they are far too cheap,” said Westermeier. “If retailers and customers don’t understand that beer is also worth something, there will be a radical change in the industry. In the end, many beer brands will not survive.“
Brewing uses a lot of energy. The increased costs are “cruel, they have tripled”. In the event of a gas crisis due to the war in Ukraine, the family business would have to weigh up what it could and couldn’t produce. “Draft beer would be least at risk, it’s the least energy-intensive. To put it bluntly: we need a wheat beer triage, a prioritization of sales channels.” So it would have to be decided which customer would get how much beer – here the most loyal customers would have priority.
Good beer is also cheap
ÖKO-TEST recently (issue 6/2022) tested a total of 50 Pils beers from different manufacturers. Many of them can convince the experts, including cheap beer from the supermarket.
45 products completed the test with the grade “good” or “very good”. Among the best are well-known brands such as Neumarkter Lammsbräu, Bitburger, Hasseröder and Veltins Cheap beer from Edeka for only 0.39 euros per 500 ml Pils.
Three other products scored “satisfactorily” in the test. However, two other brands do not pass the test: one fails with “poor”, the other is only “unsatisfactory” according to the testers. Read more about this here.