Sales of no or low alcohol beers rise in The Netherlands

Trying to catch the no or low alcohol wave, some brewers are making it their main source of income, such as Van de Streek Bier in Utrecht.

Ronald van de Streek and his brother Sander have been brewing beer since 2017 and they now produce around 900 litres of it every hour. They started more than ten years ago as a hobby, at home in their kitchen. Back then they were still making beer with alcohol, now more than 60% of their production is alcohol-free, which is defined as any drink with less than half a percent of alcohol.

Van de Streek also brews the first Dutch alcohol-free IPA, which is a popular English beer that has a larger amount of hops added to it than normal.

“Non-alcoholic beer became more expensive last year because the sugar tax increased. Nevertheless, sales increased,” Van der Streek said.

The latest figures from the Dutch Brewers’ association show that 5.8% of all beer sold in 2019 was alcohol-free. In 2023, that was 7% and the brewers want to get it to 10% in 2030.

Meint Waterlanden of the Dutch Brewers’ association says non-alcoholic beer is becoming more popular, because its quality has increased in recent years. “The taste became better and alcohol-free beer also fits into a balanced lifestyle. People are watching what they eat and drink more these days.”

Many student associations are also paying attention to alcohol-free beer. Last year, all student associations in Eindhoven signed a covenant saying they will try to combat alcohol abuse.

“I don’t expect alcohol to disappear completely from our society,” Silke Smit, a student in the city, said.

“I don’t expect that and I don’t think we should expect that. I think we should accept it when someone chooses not to drink alcohol and that it should be okay if you’re in the pub having a 0.0% beer.”