MFor a long time in the past two years, keg beer bottling at Veltins in Sauerland stood still because restaurateurs had closed their pubs, clubs and restaurants and nobody wanted to buy beer in kegs. All freshly brewed beer has been bottled during the pandemic to be sold directly to end customers through beverage stores and supermarkets. Since the restaurateurs have reopened, the draft beer business has been up and running again. In the first half of the year, Veltins even brewed more beer than ever before in the almost 200-year history of the brewery. It was 1.7 million hectoliters from January to June 2022, around 10 percent more than in the same period last year.
“The market is better than the mood,” says Veltins chief representative Michael Huber in an interview with the FAZ: “There are too many complaints in the industry. I think all breweries are growing right now.” Draft beer is making a comeback, but in return people are drinking a little less bottled beer, explains Huber. Gastronomy and retail are currently developing differently, but overall the trend is clearly upwards. The catering industry has had a very difficult time, but thanks to state aid there does not seem to be any long-term damage from the pandemic, says Veltins Marketing Manager Volker Kuhl and praises the (old) federal government: “The state has helped the catering industry a lot “.
