With previously restricted markets like Russia and China opening up to the sale of nature’s finest beverage, beer has officially become the most popular drink—alcoholic or otherwise—in the world:
At the moment the US is the largest producer of beer in the world. However this expected to change within the next five years. It is thought that China will over take the US. Since 1995 the consumption of beer in China has risen by 88 percent. The Chinese economy has opened up and due to the potential of the beer market in the country, a number of international beer brewers built or bought shares in plants in China. Anheuser-Busch has bought a 30 percent share of the most established Chinese brewer, Tsingtao. At the moment it is believed that there are around 850 brewers in China. More large producers, including Carlsberg, Guinness and Heineken, are trying to take a part of this new large beer market.
Its Official: Beer is the World’s Most Popular Beverage [Associated Content]
(Photo: Fantome Brise-Bonbons, courtesy Me.)
ohhh. i wonder if they have weird beer flavors like there are weird coke flavors all over the world. shrimp beer, anyone?
Dont forget Brazil… which is co-home to the largest beer-producing company in the world (Ambev). Sorry Anheuser…you may make more money, but Ambev makes more beer.