Queensland takes the Gold with XXXX

There’s a new winner at the pubs: Queensland’s Brisbane-based beer, XXXX Gold, has been honoured with the title of Australia’s Most Popular Beer.

According to the latest Nielsen figures, mid-strength beer XXXX accounts for 12.4 per cent of all beer consumed across the nation.

Victoria Bitter, a full-strength beer and last year’s champion beer, was unseated by 0.1 per cent, putting it in second place.

The victory mirrors a growing beer trend in Australia where more drinkers are starting to seek out light and mid-strength beers over full-strength varieties. According to the 2010 Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than 20 per cent of the nation’s beer consumption was made up of light and mid-strength drinks – the latter showing a 0.6 per cent increase.

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 "The mid-strength dynamic has clearly allowed Australians to find greater balance, which allows them to face up to those realities of modern-day pressures,” said spokesman Matt Tapper to the Courier Mail.

“The way we've marketed and promoted the brand really positioned it as a quintessentially Australian brand.”

According to the Herald Sun, these are Australia’s Top 10 beers by volume:

XXXX Gold, 12.4 per cent

VB, 12.3 per cent

Carlton Draught, 9.3 per cent

Tooheys New, 7.1 per cent

Tooheys Extra Dry, 4.4 per cent

Carlton Mid, 3.8 per cent

Carlton Dry, 3.3 per cent

Corona Extra, 3.1 per cent

Pure Blonde, 2.6 per cent

Hahn Premium, Light 2.5 per cent

 Australia ranked 20th internationally in terms of beer consumption per capita in a 2011 World Health Organisation report, and numerous reports have stated that Australia’s beer consumption remains at a 65-year low point. In 2004, Australia was ranked 4th just behind Germany.