BEER TRENDS

Beer trends are certainly evolving, with a poll1 showing that Britons are engaging with beer in a variety of different ways, with one third (35%) of British adults saying they have drunk beer instead of wine with a meal, more than one in ten (14%) reporting they have used beer as an ingredient in cooking, over one in ten (11%) matching beer with food and one in ten (10%) saying they have chosen a low or non-alcoholic beer instead of a regular beer in the past six months. 

Despite the fact that the majority of us view beer as our national alcoholic drink (57%) – with wine running a distant second at only 6% and whisky picking up just 3% of the votes – members of the public continue to misunderstand the nutritional content of beer.  68% of British adults mistakenly think that beer is high in sugar, 84% think it’s high in calories and 85% think it’s fattening.

There is also an ever-increasing range and diversity of “low and no” beers for those who want to enjoy an adult beverage without the alcohol or who may be considering adopting more mindful or moderate drinking habits. From 2013 to 2017, the low and no alcohol beer market grew by 150% in the UK. Approximately 43 million pints of low or no alcohol beer are now sold annually in the UK2. Whether to enjoy at home or in the pub, the ever-increasing range and diversity of this category is a “game changer” for those who just want to enjoy an adult beverage without the alcohol or who may be considering adopting more mindful or moderate drinking habits alone or as part of a balanced and healthy diet and lifestyle. 

Recent statistics (2018) show that our appetite for “low and no” beer is on the rise with around 1.4m UK households buying such beers in the past year, according to a recent report by Kantar Worldpanel – a 57% increase in two years3. In addition, drinking habits and attitudes have changed more widely with new research, published in the medical journal BMC Public Health and carried out by University College London, revealing that the proportion of 16 to 24 year-olds who do not drink alcohol has increased from 18% in 2005 to 29% in 20154. Binge drinking rates also decreased – from 27% in 2005 to 18% in 2015, based on the Health Survey for England figures.4

  1. ComRes surveyed 2,036 British adults aged 18+ online between the 5th and 7th February 2016. Data were weighted by gender, age, region and socio economic grade to be representative of all GB adults aged 18+. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Full data tables are available at www.comres.co.uk
  2. BBPA
  3. https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2018/08/trend-spotting-10-alcohol-trends-in-uk-retail-to-watch-in-2018-19/2/
  4. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-018-5995-3