Chris Shanahan: More people drinking Aussie craft beers

Australian craft beers continue their expansion as consumption of mainstream beer declines.

In the five years from March 2010 to March 2014, the proportion of Australian adults drinking local craft beer in any four-week period increased from 3.5 per cent to 5.7 per cent, according to Roy Morgan Research. In the same period the proportion of adults drinking local mainstream beer fell from 36.7 per cent to 31.9 per cent.

Hand in hand with the broadening appeal of local craft beer – and surely part of the same phenomenon – is the rise of imported beer. The proportion of people 18 years and over to drink imported beer in a four-week period grew from 14 per cent to 17.3 per cent in the same five-year period.

Driving the change, says Roy Morgan, are “predominantly those under 50, with 25–34 year olds leading the way”.