Brussels, July 2006 - After last year‘s first successful edition the Belgische Brouwers are out and about again to find out just how Belgians behave with their national beverage, beer.

Who drinks beer? And why? What does the average Belgian know about the health effects of beer? What does the average Belgian understand as ‘social’ drinking?

Check out the survey questions on the list compiled by the Beer & Society Information Center in cooperation with the internet sites of Het Laatste Nieuws, La Dernière Heure and La Libre Belgique. All of 6 765 respondents, 20% more than last year,told us that beer is the No. 1 thirst-quenching party-hearty drink when friends get together, but they are also aware of the risks ofoverindulgence. The average Belgian knows well: ‘brewed with TLC, drunk with IQ”, and sets this into practice.

Where and when?

When exactly do you like to drink what exactly? Given a choice of beverages (beer, wine, spirits, NA or near-beers, champagne, alcopops), the respondents could say which drinks they might prefer in different situations. Even more than last year, the preference appeared to be accorded to beer over coffee (89% as against 87% last year. A good 95% or so of the male respondents preferred beer to coffee. 67% of the women also liked an occasional a beer, but rather preferred alcohol-free (15%) or wine (12%).

Even during a night on the town, beer boasts a good (77%): both men (84%) and women (55%). Women, though, are conspicuously more inclined (17%) than men (5%) to choose alcohol-free drinks.

Eating out at a restaurant, your average Belgian would prefer a wine (65%), though beer consumption is slightly up on the previous year (from 20% to 21%).

Beer holds sway during family parties (53% v. 51% previous year), the bright young things in particular (-35 yrs) seem to favour a good old brewski now than last year. Receptions still head the list with champagne (47% compared with 46% last year), with wine and beer in second and third place .

Home drinking would seem to involve two sorts of session: a meal, while watching TV, visits, … Sitting down to dinner, you’d go for a non-A tipple (55% - women and young males scoring the best here), while 25% would go for a beer (especially men of age 45 and above)

A ‘sipping beer’, visiting friends or gently nodding off in front of the TV. First choice for 52%; the ‘man thing’ (58%). Women are rather more ‘picky’: beer (34%), NA/near-beer (30%) and wine (29%).

Be that as it may, “yer average Belgian” will take “drinking a little beer” as a sign of hosptilality. God knows, most respondents (53%) enjjoy their little beer best in the company of friend and acquaintances. Beer against nasty feather-spitting sobrietry (for women especially) is in second place compared with last year (28% v. 24%).

The beer palette: something for all comers

Rather more than half the Belgian beer-drinking population tends to favour a simple lager-type beer (52%). Abbey-brewed beers are gaining currency compared with 2006 (9% to 11%), apparently because of an up and coming catchment (the 26 to  55 year category has been increasing since 2006). “Witbier” (wheat beer) (5%), trappist (5%), amberbier (4%) and fruit beer (4%) are also popular. Women seem to prefer the fruit-based beers while the male of the species in general, and the French in particular, rather favour a lip-tingling little trappist.

Health in moderation

So it was last year, so now. Your “average Belgian” (well, 64%, regards himself as a sort of social beer-drinker (1 from glass a month to 4 glasses a week), 24% would confess to being a regular drinker (5 glasses per week to 2 a day[1]), a further 9% would even admit to being heavy drinkers (more than 3 glasses per day). 4% of the respondents apparently drink no beer at all. The same ins and out and all abouts seem to apply in respect of alcohol consumption all down the line, in exactly the same way as do young persons and students.

It is common knowledge that moderate beer-drinking is beneficial as regards health. 49% would have it that you might safely drink 1 or 2 beers a day. 23% would assert 3 or 4 glasses. 18% rather prefer less than 1 unit a day. The yardstick for the comparison of women against men has been lowered compared with last year in as much as will now have to do as least as well as the men.

Beer is a sort of guys-together drink, usually but not always: the majority of Belgians would rather agree that such is such not the case for a pregnant woman (81%), a minor (70%), or a contractually engaged driver 88%) expected to abstain from beer, wine or spirits. Tolerance as regards drinking at work has increased on last year (69% instead of 79%).

Many studies[2] have shown that moderate consumption of beer and spirits (two to three glasses a day) tends to counteract cardiovascular disease: 28% of Belgians know all too well, and a further40% wouldn’t have the foggiest idea.

Belgische Brouwers, Arnoldusconvenant: Beer brewed with TLC is best drunk with some IQ; 80% go along with this, as against last year’s 76%.

Conclusion

All in all, it may be said that “your average Belgian” will continue to enjoy his or her “little beer” with or without nieghbours or whatever else may happen along, without caring all that much about beer in its guise as “our national beverage”.

Data

This internet survey was conducted from 2 to 16 June 2006 via www.hln.be, www.dhnet.be.be and www.lalibre.be. 77% of the 6 765 persons having spontaneously completed the survey were male. A good 50% were holding down an office job; 28% manual workers. Most had taken secondary education (50%), follwed by one or another form of non-universitary (34%) or universitary education (9%) The best represented age bracket is the 26-35 year-olds (29%).

Comprehensive beer barometer results (extended info + numerical data) on

www.bsic.be

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