Stout drinkers in Ireland aren’t hit as hard in the pocket as their lager-drinking counterparts.
Getting change from a €5 after buying a pint isn’t nearly as common in Ireland as it used to be, but if lager is your tipple, the average price of a pint in Ireland remained under €5 in 2018, according to report released on Friday.
The average price of a pint of lager (€4.94) and stout (€4.55) were amongst the findings published in the Irish Beer Market Report by the Irish Brewers Association, released to coincide with International Beer Day (2 August).
Fittingly for the day that’s in it, the report revealed that beer is Ireland’s most popular drink, with a 45% market share last year.
Drilling down into the figures, it was revealed that lager is Ireland’s favourite type of beer, having grown in popularity from a 60.8% share in the beer market in 2017 to a 63.8% share in 2018.
Stout, meanwhile, is Ireland’s second favourite beer, with a 29.3% share, followed by ale at 6.3%.
The market share of non-alcoholic beer increased slightly from 0.4% in 2017 to 0.6% last year, reflecting a trend across Europe, where low and non-alcoholic beer is growing in popularity.
Elsewhere in the report, it was revealed that most beer is consumed in pubs and restaurants (63.5% sales market share), with off-trade share of beer sales increasing from 35.2% in 2017 to 36.5% last year.
The increasing appeal of craft beer in Ireland shows no sign of slowing down either, with the most up to date information showing that sales have increased from 54,000 HL (hectolitres) to 127,000 HL in the period from 2014 to 2017.
Commenting on the report, head of the IBA Jonathan McDade said: “We’ve seen gin and whiskey becoming more popular in Ireland in the last few years, but this report confirms that beer is our firm favourite. There’s been plenty of great new beer products hitting the market in recent years from both large and small players, which keeps us interested in great Irish beer. There are even low and non-alcoholic options for those that are more health conscious.
“The beer industry also continues to make an important contribution to the economy, employing over 1,000 people. It paid €430 million in excise duty to the taxman in 2018, with 29 per cent of the price of the pint going to the Government.”
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