Boutique brews buck beer decline

Beer consumption is continuing to fall nationally after hitting a 50-year low last year, but boutique brews are defying the trend.

There are more than 200 microbreweries in Australia and dozens more are entering the industry each year, despite beer consumption dropping nationally.

Hobart-based hops supplier Sandy Ross says beer lovers are increasingly going up market when they reach for a cold one.

"There's more connoisseurs and less, how can I say, yobbos," he said.

He says while craft beer is more expensive than mass-produced beer, there is a global trend towards a higher quality drop.

"In America it's something like 8 per cent ... of beer consumed is craft beer," he said.

"In Australia it's probably more around 1 to 2 per cent, but that figure is growing every year.

"More and more micros are popping up, and they're getting bigger and bigger all the time as well."

Brewer Will Tatchell hopes the current popularity of boutique beers will mirror success in the UK and America.

He says in four years, his production has boomed from less than 30,000 litres to more than 100,000.

"Craft beer is the only sector of positive growth, so it's a promising thing for us in the industry," he said.

Source: ABC News, 15 October 2012