Beer is the alcoholic beverage of choice among many British men and women, so it is inevitable that people ask this question. Besides, having brewed beer myself, this is going to be fun to write about! So here we go.
It is not straightforward to answer this question. The beer industry is closely guarded when it comes to sales statistics, partly because it is dominated by a handful of huge companies, such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller. Anheuser-Busch InBev sells beer under brands such as Budweiser, Stella Artois, Beck's, Brahma, Bud Light, Skol, Labatt Blue, and Michelob. SABMiller, headquartered in London, sells Grolsch, Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell. Also, some companies report beer sales combining a few brands, while others report sales per brand. Finally, the measurement used to track the sales can be either monetary unit or volume (usually by hectolitres). Having understood all these variables, it is believed that Anheuser-Busch InBev's Bud Light is the best selling single trademark brand by volume, followed by regular Budweiser.
In England, the best selling beer title goes to Carling, followed by Fosters. Fosters is produced by the largest British brewery, Scottish & Newcastle.
As I mentioned earlier, many British men and women enjoy beer, some way too much. Altogether, about 5.9 billion litres of beer are consumed by British people every year. This is 99 litres per person per year. This compares to 159 litres by the Czechs, 131 litres by the Irish, 110 litres by the Germans, 108 by the Austrians, and 105 litres by the Australians. Is this good or bad? That's a subjective question and the answer may be different depending on whom you ask. Good or bad, beer consumption in the UK has seen a gradual decline since 1979. According to the British Beer and Pub Association, this decline is because of the economic recession and changes in people's drinking behaviour. Tax imposed on beer in the UK is the second highest in the EU after Germany, and one of the first expenses people tend to cut during a recession is entertainment. Also, the government's campaign to suggest drink responsibly has made some impact, and other alcoholic beverages, such as wine, became more popular in the past decade.
