Australians Sip More Wine, Less Beer

(WSJ) - Strewth!

Australia—the sun-kissed nation that ships Foster’s Lager and Victoria Bitter to the world’s pubs and bars—is continuing to lose its taste for beer.

In a report that shows how Australian habits have changed as the country’s economy has grown, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday that beer consumption Down Under has sunk to a 66-year low, with drinkers increasingly choosing to fill their glasses with wine instead.

While that may jar with the ubiquitous image of Australians blowing the froth of a few tinnies while grilling a prawn on the barbie, economists and statisticians said the trend isn’t likely to reverse any time soon. Beer once accounted for three in every four alcoholic drinks consumed in Australia, but it has slumped to 41% now.

“Aussies don’t drink beer like they used to – that is, in the same quantities,” said Craig James, chief economist at CommSec. “Today it is more about quality than quantity.”

The data show that Australians consumed 4.14 liters of pure alcohol per person in beer form in the year through June 2012, compared with 4.31 liters in the previous 12 months. Meanwhile, consumption of pure alcohol in wine rose from 3.79 liters to 3.80 liters as it edges closer to becoming the national drink of choice. Overall alcohol consumption was down to 10.05 liters, from 10.76 liters as recently as 2007.

Mr. James said rising incomes, changing diets and lifestyle were all likely playing a part in changing consumer habits. More random breath testing on the nation’s roads and immigration could also be having an impact.

Falling alcohol consumption is bad news for Australia’s Treasury, which will see revenues fall from liquor duty. It also signals tougher times for liquor-store owners, restaurants and bars that are already grappling with retail sales growing at their slowest pace in more than half a century.