I first received this news on April 1st so ignored it but now seems it is not a joke but absolute truth ! In fact, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Australians are drinking less alcohol in the past 15 years with beer hitting a 69 year low.
The stats showed that Australians drank 4,04 litres of beer per head over the past financial year. The lowest since 1945 ! It is believed that the reduction is due to the changing tastes and the growing popularity of craft beer which is served in smaller amounts. Food writers seem to think that consumers enjoy and are satisfied by smaller amounts of beers with greater character rather than downing quantities of low flavoured beers purely as thirst quenchers getting refreshment and maybe hangovers through the quantity.
However, while beer consumption might have dropped, it still accounts for the largest proportion of beverage consumption in Australia at 41 %, followed by wine, 37%, spirits, 13% and ready-to-drik beverages, 7% while cider is estimated to only account for 2 %.