The global market for beer has increased considerably since the early 1990s, far outpacing wine and spirits. Barring dips during the 2008 global financial crisis, and the 2020 coronavirus lockdown, sales of alcoholic beer in the UK have been steadily climbing – and they’re projected to climb still further in 2022.  

Increased Lager Consumption

Lager stands out as a particularly popular variety of beer, especially in the west. Lager is distinct thanks to the cold brew and conditioning process that it undergoes. The term comes from the German world for ‘storage’. Originally, it was kept in caves, where the temperature of the drink could be kept fairly constant. Thanks to artificial refrigeration, this is no longer necessary.

The effects of globalisation

Lager enjoys particular popularity in emerging nations like China, whose middle classes now have the disposable income necessary to consume lager on a regular basis. More frequent travel also exposes residents of distant countries to different tastes and experience, which ultimately causes a regression toward the mean. Countries traditionally associated with a particular beverage tend to become more diverse – which means that people in the UK and Ireland move away from beer in favour of wines, while residents of traditional wine-drinking nations tend in the other direction.

Of course, there are still differences in taste based on location. But they are far less pronounced than they were just a few decades ago. In China, for example, consumption of spirits was more or less universal in the 1960s. By the 2010s, however, less than two thirds of Chinese still drank spirits, and around 36% had made the switch to beer. This is according to a study by Colen and Swinnen in 2016.

It remains to be seen what role, if any, that current world events will have on taste in beer (and specifically lager) in the future. It would take a fairly seismic shift to reverse these trends, however, since drinkers just about everywhere in the world have gotten used to having a broad range of options when it comes to their alcohol.

The effects of lockdown

The Covid-19 pandemic prompted a widespread shift away from beer, according to the 2020 report from the Wine and Spirit Trade Association.  The organisation’s chief executive, Miles Beale, revealed that the widespread perception of lockdown as having created more drink behaviour was, in fact, erroneous. While people did pick up more beer from the supermarket, it was not enough to compensate for the closure of pubs.

Alternative Drinks gaining Ground

One welcome development from a public health perspective is the availability of low and no-alcohol beers. These options have proven particularly popular among millennials, and major brands like Guinness have launched alcohol-free options to widespread fanfare.