The Czech Republic: Number of regular beer drinkers constantly decreasing

In the Czech Republic, the number of people who regularly drink beer is constantly decreasing, according to the latest research of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

According to the survey, in 2022-2023, 79% of men and 42% of women drank beer at least occasionally, which is the lowest ratio measured since 2004. In the last two decades, the number of beer consumers has decreased significantly: there is a 14% drop among men and an 18% drop among women.

The research showed that beer remains one of the most important social drinks in Czech society, although more and more people are drinking beer alone rather than in company. Men consume an average of seven and a half pints of beer per week, while women consume just over two pints. Although the Czechs are famous worldwide for their beer drinking habits, fewer and fewer people are proud of it: 27% of men and only 8% of women say they are proud of their beer drinking culture, while a significant part of them are ashamed of it, Infostart points out.

The role of pubs is also changing: although they are still important in community life, their social functions are increasingly receding into the background and becoming a symbolic, cultural heritage. While pubs used to be seen as a distinctly masculine environment, today this perception has almost completely disappeared.

According to Tomás Slunecko, president of the Association of Czech Breweries and Malt Factories, Czechs notice the improvement in the quality of pubs and continue to enjoy visiting these places, which in many cases are the center of community life, especially in smaller settlements.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .