Australia: Beer is Australia’s second-preferred drink but its volume is almost double that of wine - analysis

The latest analysis from Roy Morgan Research has broken down which alcoholic beverages Australians 18 years and over are drinking in a four-week period per 100 glasses, The Shout reported on April 6.

While a recent Roy Morgan study found that more Australian adults prefer wine over beer, the volume of beer consumed is almost double that of wine.

The first report found that in any given four-week period in 2015, 45.1% of the population drank wine, while 37.6% of the population drank beer. Wine has become the nation’s most popular alcoholic beverage, thanks to the increase in female drinkers.

However, in terms of volume, beer was by far the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the country in 2015, with data suggesting that beer made up 48 glasses out of every 100 glasses of alcohol consumed in any given four-week period.

This figure is almost double that of still wine, which was the next most consumed beverage, making up 25 out of every 100 glasses of alcohol consumed. The rest of the average Australian alcohol consumption was made up of 11 glasses of spirits, six glasses of RTDs, 4 glasses of sparkling wine/Champagne, and three glasses of cider. Completing the breakdown were liqueurs and fortified wines, with an average of two and one glasses being drunk in a four-week period respectively.

The figures vary when split into different age groups. For the 65+ age group, wine (still, sparkling and fortified), is the most consumed beverage, at 48 glasses out of every 100. For the 18-24 demographic, beer remains dominant, at 50 glasses per 100, but the ratio for spirits and RTDs increases, with 16 glasses for both categories.

Andrew Price, general manager of consumer products at Roy Morgan Research, thought the general breakdown, and by different demographics produced interesting findings.

“By breaking down Australian alcohol consumption data into each 100 glasses drunk in an average four weeks, we get an instant understanding of the relative volume consumed of each beverage. Especially striking is the fact that although a higher proportion of Aussie adults drink wine, those who drink beer consume it in greater volumes.

“It is also interesting to apply the 100-glass breakdown to specific groups, such as age brackets, as described above. Comparing volumes consumed between drinkers from different socio-economic circumstances can also be interesting. Beer consumption varies dramatically between the top, high-value AB socio-economic quintile of the population (who drink 45 glasses of beer per average 100 glasses of alcohol) and the lowest, least wealthy FG quintile (57 glasses of beer consumed for every 100 glasses of booze).

“Not surprisingly, the quantities of different beverages consumed by Aussie women and men per 100 glasses vary significantly. While beer accounts for 60 of every 100 glasses drunk by men (compared to 19 for women), women drink greater volumes of almost all the other beverages.”

06 April, 2016