Revealed: Australians’ tastes in tipples in terms of liquor segments

Though a higher proportion of Australians drink wine compared to beer, this doesn’t necessarily mean that a higher volume of wine is consumed.

“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​,” said Andrew Price of Roy Morgan Research. 

“Especially striking is the fact that although a higher proportion of Aussie adults drink wine, those who drink beer consume it in greater volumes​.”

For every 100 glasses of liquor consumed by Aussies in an average four weeks, 48 consist of beer, 25 are still wine, 11 are spirits, six are pre-mixed, four are sparkling wine or champagne, three are cider, two are liqueur and one is fortified wine. 

Comparing the 100-glass breakdown between different age groups reveals some striking variations. For example, the beer component comprises 50 glasses out of each 100 consumed by the 18-24 year-old-age bracket, though only 42 among drinkers aged 65 and over. 

Wine, on the other hand, accounts for 48 of every 100 glasses drunk by the 65+ demographic: 42 being still wine, four being sparkling or champagne, and two being fortified—substantially more than any other age group. Indeed, the number of glasses of wine consumed per 100 increases in proportion with age. 

Drinkers aged 18-24 also consume more spirits (16 glasses), pre-mixes (also 16 glasses) and cider (three glasses) per average 100 glasses than any other age group. 

“Comparing volumes consumed by drinkers from different socio-economic circumstances can also be interesting​,” Price added. 

“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)​.”

Not surprisingly, the quantities of different beverages consumed by Australian women and men 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.