Who wants her blonde, who hopped, who perfumed with citrus fruits. Beer in Italy is no longer just a pub drink or game on TV: it has become a shared language, a transversal phenomenon that combines generations and tastes. And on the occasion of the International Beer Day, which is celebrated on Friday 1 August, the sector raises the mug and toasts to a more lively market than ever.
It is not just a well -stocked shelf sensation: the numbers say that the sector is in full turmoil. According to estimates by Future Market Insights, the global beer value will touch 793 billion dollars in 2025, with a provision of 1.616 billion in 2035, at an annual growth rhythm of 7.3 percent. To be the lead is always her, the lager, who alone covers 45 percent of the world market. But behind this classic blonde, new actors and new trends move: increasingly creative craft beers, emerging technologies (yes, there are also blockchain and ai), sustainable packaging and, above all, a silent but unstoppable revolution: soft beers. Yes, because today drinking beer does not necessarily mean drinking alcohol. According to The Business Research Company, the non -alcoholic beer market has touched 22 billion dollars in 2024 and it is estimated that it will rise to 35 billion by 2029. A push that have arrived above all from Millennials and Gen Z, increasingly inclined to choose products with bass (or null) alcoholic content, without renouncing the taste.
Also in Italy the trend makes itself felt. According to the data collected on the occasion of the Tutto Food Milan Fair, in the two-year period 2023-2024 the non-alcoholic beers saw a growth of 35 percent, with a turnover of 450 million euros. Not only data: behind the numbers there are the choices, evidence, errors and restarts of those who make beer seriously. This is the case of Simone Brusadelli, master double malt breast, catering chain and 100 percent Italian craft brewery. “The first tests to produce non -alcoholic beers date back to two years ago – he says -. We developed not very furious musts, using our usual Saccaromices yeast. The idea was to obtain light beers, with aromatic profile similar to the ‘normal’ ones”. The first tests? “Good, but difficult to replicate on a large scale”. So Piano B was taken: “We studied two recipes of our historical beers, adapting them in a non-alcoholic version and using a de-alklation technology developed with an Italian partner”. Result: “Two light, aromatic beers, with persistent foam and very low gradation”. And, surprised, they liked the public. “We had been tempted for some time, but we wanted to do it in our own way, without compromise – explains Ivan Tagliavia, brand of marketing of the brand -. The fact of producing everything internally allowed us to experiment without pressure. Our premises were the test bench: the reception was immediately positive”.
The enthusiastic response of the public not only confirmed the choice to focus on the analcolical, but also provided a female paper map to read the tastes of the Italians. Thanks to the sales data in double malt restaurants, you can draw a top ten of the most loved beers. At the top of the podium there is always her, the blonde: thirsty, reassuring, democratic. In second place, the IPA: signal that the Italian public is no longer afraid to venture between intense hops and exotic perfumes. Bronze medal with the Red, loved for her bad and decisive tones. The Weiss and the Scura follow, which testify to the growing interest in the most sought after styles. The American Wheat and the Bitter bring an international wave in the ranking, while in eighth place the Ginger Ale confirms the curiosity towards alternative brassical experiences. And in the ninth place, her: non -alcoholic beer. Not yet as a podium, but in decisive ascent. To close, Blanche, an evergreen of summer, which resists fashions with its spicy lightness.
In short, the beer market has never been like this
sparkling. Between old glories, new tastes and sober but convincing versions, the beer proves more than ever the mirror of an Italy that changes, but that does not give up toasting. Even if, sometimes, he does it without raising his elbow.