A downward trend in lager sales goes far beyond this summer's poor performance, new research suggests.
A study from market analysis firm Mintel claims that alcohol-drinking consumers are broadening their drinking range beyond the simple pint of lager.
Wine, cocktails and champagne are all on the up while cider and rose wine are also doing well – and all at the cost of the humble pint of lager.
Sales volumes in Britain will slip eight per cent between now and 2012, Mintel predicts. This follows a five per cent decline since 2005.
Katy Child, senior market analyst at Mintel, commented: "The traditional lager lout, with his beer belly and pint in hand, may be becoming a rarer breed here in the UK, as the lager market has well and truly lost its head.
"As people are much more aware of the wide choice available, drinkers now realise that there is more to life than just a pint of lager."
A shift in lager drinking from the bar of the local to the sofa at home is also expected to take place by 2012 – a trend Mintel expects to be exacerbated by the recently introduced smoking ban.
The demise of the lager lout is not over yet, however. Even in 2012 UK lager consumption will stand at a thirst-quenching 3.65 billion litres.
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