The Brewers Association of Australia says Australians are leading the world when it comes to the consumption of lower strength beers, with its latest research finding more than 30 per cent of beer sales in Australia are now mid, low or zero strength.
Professor Kym Anderson from the University of Adelaide School of Economics and Public Policy carried out the research, which found sales of mid, low, or zero strength beer have risen from 23 per cent in the 1990s. Only Sweden, which has significantly lower tax rates for mid strength beer, matches the size of the category in Australia.
The share of alcohol consumed as beer in Australia, at two-fifths (down from two-thirds in the 1970s), is now the same as in the rest of the world demonstrating that Australians are consuming beer more selectively and responsibly.
The Brewers Association report also shows that zero-alcohol beer is growing rapidly in Australia but still represents only one per cent of sales, but that share is expected to double in the next few years.
The study found that the shift to no, low and mid-strength beers has been great news for responsible alcohol consumption in Australia, with drinkers reducing their consumption of pure alcohol through beer by around three million litres over the past decade.
This follows consumption trends discovered in research published in 2021 on more than two decades of drink consumption in Australia, which revealed a long-term shift in Australians’ non-alcoholic drink choices over the period.
Australia’s overall alcohol consumption has declined by 11 per cent over the past decade compared to the average decline of four per cent among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Australia now sits around midway in OECD countries when it comes to alcohol consumption per adult.
As beer volumes have dropped significantly since their peak in the 1970s, consumers are drinking more responsibly and shifting to ‘premium beers’. The share of premium beer consumption in Australia rose from 28 per cent in 2011, to 43 per cent in 2018.
The Brewers Association said further evidence of the vibrancy of Australia’s beer industry is that the number of breweries in the country doubled between 2015 and 2019 from 360 to 740.
John Preston, CEO of the association, said the report highlighted both the strength of the brewing sector in Australia and its contribution to the unparalleled progress that has been made in Australia on responsible alcohol consumption.
“Over the past years we have seen beer drinkers reduce their pure alcohol consumption by three million litres as lower-alcohol beer products have become more popular. It’s clear that our brewing industry’s innovation in this area has made a significant difference to consumption levels.
“Over 30 per cent of beer sales in Australia are now mid, low, or zero-strength. As we saw recently, two out of the top three most popular beers in Australia are mid-strength brands – Great Northern Super Crisp and XXXX Gold – and we note that Coopers launched Coopers Dry 3.5 in November 2022,” said Preston.
The report puts forward the argument that through additional preferential excise treatment of mid-strength beer, Australia could see further reductions in alcohol consumption, that could further strengthen Australia’s leadership in responsible beer consumption.
The report also states that a decrease in tax on and thus the price of mid- relative to full-strength beers would encourage more substitution away from full-strength beer, and possibly also from wines and spirits. In so doing, Australia’s overall alcohol and calorie consumption would decline.
Professor Anderson says opportunity lies in lower-alcohol beers becoming more similar in flavour and style to full-strength beers.
“Should the current difference in the excise duties on mid and full-strength beers be widened, that would open a further opportunity for this category,” said Anderson.
