Drinkers call time on lager and favour cider and rosé

The lager lout may soon become a thing of the past as more drinkers switch to rosé and cider, both of which are enjoying a resurgence in popularity.

Rosé or blush, which was once seen as a rather unfashionable drink among wine buffs, has seen sales rise an astonishing 188 per cent since 2005. Meanwhile, the cider over ice phenomena, spearheaded by Magners and Bulmers, has led to a 14 per cent increase in cider volume sales over the past two years.

Major brewers, such as Scottish & Newcastle which makes Foster's and Kronenbourg, have been blaming the appalling weather across the UK for declining beer sales in early summer.

But research from Mintel suggests the decline in the lager market is more than a weather-related blip. Mintel predicts that the market will fall by a further 8 per cent by 2012, which translates into 19 less pints a year per adult. S&N, which makes Bulmers in the UK, is developing Strongbow for European markets to tap into the growing trend for cider as lager declines.

Katy Child, a senior market analyst at Mintel said drinkers were becoming much more sophisticated when it comes to alcohol.

"We are increasingly looking for different drinks for different occasions, such as wine with a meal, cocktails in the evening and champagne for a special celebration," she said. "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."

Ian Bell, a senior analyst at Euromoniter, said rosé experienced a decline from 2002 but since 2005 has been on the up. But he pointed out that the pink wine only represents 7 per cent of the overall wine market in the UK. Red wine is declining slightly while white wine remains static, following the Chardonnay boom sparked by Bridget Jones fans in the 1990s. "It is going to be difficult to get the consumer to drink more wine as there is much more health awareness," Mr Bell said. "But rosé is an easier drink to drink than white or red wine. It has also become popular to drink it super chilled, over-ice, so that the taste is not so important."

Sparkling wines are also performing well but consumers are broadening their tastes and choosing to celebrate with cava or prosecco, rather than cheap varieties of champagne, Mr Bell said.

Paul Jennings, author of The Local, a history of the pub, agreed that consumer's tastes were changing. "We are getting more sophisticated in the broadest sense," he said. "You can say this about anything, we eat a greater variety of cheeses or pastas now than every before."

This sophistication in consumption habits was also true of the way we now drink lager, he said. "There are more drinks than there were," he said. "We used to all drink Skol or Harp and now there are a whole range of premium lagers."

But Mr Jennings does not believe this is the end for lager. "Lager came from nothing to control more than half of the beer in a relatively short space of time," he said. "I would hesitate before pronouncing the end of it just yet."

One of the key shifts in the lager market has been the move towards drinking at home instead of in pubs, bars and restaurants. Some 30 per cent of all lager sales are made through supermarkets and off-licences with the rest in the on-trade. In 2002, 80 per cent of all lager sales were in the on trade.

"No doubt, this year's smoking ban in public places will impact further on our drinking habits, not least for lager which has always been best served down the pub with the lads," Ms Child said.

Mr Bell said it is a combination of the smoking ban, health awareness and the bad weather that has hit lager sales. He said UK consumers still drink a lot of their weekly alcohol intake at pubs and bars but the smoking ban would accelerate the trend for drinking at home, bringing us more in line with the rest of Europe.

Just one in 10 adults drink lager regularly, according to Mintel. As many as four in 10 never drink lager at all.