Aussies frothing over mid-strength as beer of choice

Lloyd Jones | June 24, 2026

Mid-strength has overtaken full-strength as Australia’s beer of choice, Japanese lagers have passed Mexican cervezas as the top international style and stout is having a major resurgence.

The quiet revolution in the nation’s beer-drinking habits is tallied in a State of the Hops Report, drawing on purchasing data from millions of Dan Murphy’s and BWS shoppers.

After losing ground to spirits and premixed drinks, beer has bounced back to its pre-pandemic share of the liquor market, the report says.

Beer drinkers have more choice than ever, with a 165 per cent growth in range over the past decade.

There had been a huge transformation in the local beer market, BWS merchandise general manager Gill Webb said.

“Aussie beer drinkers are now more adventurous and discerning than ever,” she said.

“Rather than a single dominant trend, our data reveals a multi-faceted market.”

A shift towards moderation has seen mid-strength beer officially overtake full-strength to be the biggest selling style by volume across BWS and Dan Murphy’s stores.

Full-strength remains the number one style by dollar sales but its volume has been steadily declining since 2020, as mid-strength continues to rise.

Given its consistent growth, mid-strength beer is predicted to claim the top spot for sales value within two years, the report predicts.

It also shows a sustained rise in sales across low-alcohol, non-alcoholic and low-carb beer.

Non-alcoholic beer is in its 11th consecutive year of growth, while two thirds of all low-carb beer brands at BWS and Dan Murphy’s experienced growth in the past year.

The report shows the moderation movement has given rise to a trend where shoppers show flexibility by intentionally switching between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Propelled by rising sales of Guinness, stout has claimed the title of fastest-growing style, the report shows.

Japan has overtaken Mexico as Australia’s preferred international beer origin, with the Netherlands in third place. 

The report shows a strong link between state demographics and preferences, with NSW drinking more Chinese beer than other states, while there’s an uptick in UK beer in Western Australia, and New Zealand beer in Queensland.

Gen Z and younger Millennial women are discovering beer at a higher rate than their male counterparts, making beer the second fastest-growing liquor category for that demographic. 

NSW boasts some of Australia’s biggest beer-loving postcodes, with the inner-Sydney suburb of Erskineville leading the nation in craft brew consumption.

Victorian palates align with the top tier of the market, drinking less mid-strength than the national average, and instead gravitating toward full-strength, low-carb, and international beer.

The state is also the national leader for online sales.

But Queensland is Australia’s beer capital, being the largest state for beer sales by volume and the undisputed national leader in mid-strength and a stronghold for bulk formats like 30-packs, the report shows.  

Western Australia is the craft beer capital, with local shoppers buying nearly double the amount than the average Australian.

The west’s beer-drinking patterns correlate strongly with British drinking trends, given more than a third of of WA postcodes have a significant population of UK-born residents.

Tasmanians are Australia’s biggest stout drinkers and and the most willing to experiment with new drops.