Again, given beer’s role as a refreshment ahead of the main event of cocktails, it’s typically lagers and lighter-style beers that do best.
Seventy per cent of polled bars stock a beer brand, half stock two and a third offer three or more. Given the specific regionality of many domestic brands, it’s no surprise that again the international brands come out top, but no one brand dominates. With the sustained popularity of the craft movement in brewing, the general lack of craft brands on both the bestselling and trending tables is notable.
Last year, Heineken, a usual mainstay at the head of the table, had its lowest performance since the birth of the Annual Brands Report but returns to the top two with last year’s bestseller, Asahi Super Dry. Both brands were the most popular beer in 13% of our polled bars, and a top-three choice in a quarter. We give Asahi Super Dry the nod based on historical performance, not least that it is the reigning champion. The Asahi Breweries-owned Italian lager, Peroni Nastro Azzurro rounds out the top three, falling one place.
Diageo’s Guinness is the only stout on the list. A number one choice in just 3% of bars, the brand fares well as an alternative selection, a top-three selling brand in 21%.
Fifth to seventh places are separated by a single percentage with the world’s first pale lager, non-mover Pilsner Urquell, and American volume giant Budweiser narrowly beating Stella Artois, which climbs two places. Scotland’s Brewdog, a brand at the heart of craft beer’s mainstream popularity, makes its fourth consecutive list but falls two places in a year marked by company culture controversy.
Mexican lager Corona, owned by Constellation Brands, falls from third to ninth, a bestseller in just 1% of polled bars, and the Portuguese favourite Super Bock completes the list.
Methodology
The results of this report are the culmination of a questionnaire of 106 bars around the world, each cherry-picked to take part based on their performance in global bar awards. We aim to find out not only which brands sell best but also what’s trending. These two data sets give us an insight into the brands that are doing the most volume and the brands that are hot right now.
To read more on the methodology of the Brands Report click here.
