Imported Lagers

A report has found that beer consumption in Australia has slumped in the past half century.

At the start of the 1960s, beer made up more than three-quarters of all alcohol consumed.

But a report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics says that has now fallen to 44 per cent.

The popularity of other alcoholic drinks has surged over the same period, with wine consumption increasing threefold to 36 per cent and spirit sales almost doubling to 20 per cent.

But while beer consumption has slumped, the report found Australians’ alcohol consumption has gradually increased over the last 15 years.

It says Australia’s peak per capita alcohol consumption occurred in the mid-1970s, with an average of 13 litres of pure alcohol drunk per person per year.

That dropped to under 10 litres in the mid-1990s, but has since risen slowly to nearly 10.5 litres per person, or 2.3 standard drinks per person per day.

But the report concedes it overestimates consumption, because alcohol used in cooking and wastage are also included.