Festival enjoy the first glasses of beer on day one of the 189th 'Oktoberfest' beer festival in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. Credit: AP/Matthias Schrader.

Alcohol-free beer has been gaining popularity in recent years as beer consumption shrinks. At Weihenstephan, which was founded as a brewery in 1040 by Benedictine monks, non-alcoholic wheat beer ...

Munich breweries began switching to a lighter-colored, easy-drinking beer in the 1970s. (Courtesy Paulaner USA) It's available 12 months a year and sold almost exclusively in the United States.

Visitors wait in the tent of the Hacker-Pschorr brewery the start of the 189th ‘Oktoberfest’ beer festival in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) ...