Gundagai (population approximately 3700) has recorded 17th place as one of Australia’s thirstiest towns for beer.
Data comes from Endeavour’s (the owners of liquor store’s Dan Murphy’s and BWS) State of the Hops Report on beer trends and sales data.
Gundagai is one of six NSW towns represented in the top 20 Thirstiest Towns, but Queensland took the cake with Charters Towers, Mount Isa, Bowen and Ingham in the top four towns. Fifth place went to Kurri Kurri in NSW.
The report also found a quiet “beer revolution” had been staged as Mid-Strength beers have overtaken Full-Strength beers as Australia’s drink of choice. Japanese lagers have now overtaken Mexican Cervezas as the top international beer and Stout has made a resurgence in popularity.
During the Covid period, beer sales went down significantly in favour of spirits and premixed drinks, but has bounced back with a 160 percent growth in range over the past decade. There are more than 2300 beer options to choose from at BWS and Dan Murphy’s as of the 2026 report (an all-time high).
BWS General Manager of Merchandise, Gill Webb says they’ve seen a huge transformation in the Aussie beer market, with drinkers choosing more adventurous choices than before.
“Rather than a single dominant trend, our data reveals a multi-faceted market,” she says.
“For brewers, brands and retailers, the message from this report is clear: navigating this exciting new era of beer requires a hyper-localised approach.
“Simply put, the days of the ‘typical’ beer shopper are officially behind us.”
Although the report found drinking habits varied widely from state to state, some consistent patterns were discovered.
Low-Alcohol, Non-Alcoholic and Low-Carb beer continues to rise in popularity and Non-Alcoholic beer celebrated its 11th year of consistent growth.
Heaps Normal CEO and Co-founder, Andy Millers, says the data tells the story about the rise of Non-Alcoholic beer.
“The non-alc category is growing and we’re pretty excited to see that Heaps Normal is the fastest-growing non-alc beer in the country, growing at more than three times the pace of the category,” he says.
Head of Beer at LION, Courtney Forde, says shoppers are becoming more deliberate in their choices by balancing moderation with “selective trade-up’.
“Functional benefits such as low and zero carb are gaining traction, particularly with younger consumers who prioritise wellness, but not at the expense of taste,” she says.
Nationwide, the “face of the modern beer” has changed with Gen X and Millennial women discovering beer at a higher rate than their male counterparts and has seen beer become the second fastest-growing liquor category for the demographic.
NSW and the ACT are leading to charge in diversifying Australia’s taste in beer and specialised styles, such as Craft, International, Non-Alcoholic and Low-Carb beers were found to be favoured. Nearly a third of all Low-Carb options were purchased within NSW/ACT.
Despite the national trend favouring Mid-Strength beer, NSW has gone against the trend with Full-Strength beer still the drink of choice.
NSW has also laid claim to some of the country’s biggest beer-loving postcodes, such as Erskineville, leading the nation in Craft beer consumption (accounting for the highest percentage of total liquor sales of any postcode).
In Pymble, beer made up 60 percent of all transactions, which was the highest of any store nationwide.
Andy says NSW’s thirst for Non-Alcoholic beer could be a revolt against drinking alcohol as a statement.
“People are just choosing the drink they want in the moment, and this is being driven predominantly by millennials and Gen Z consumers who are more comfortable with thinking about play and wellness differently,” he says.
Queensland stands as Australia’s Beer Capital, purchasing the most volume of beer, with more than 20 million litres of Mid-Strength beer consumed than the next highest indexing state. Beyond Mid-Strength beer, flavours such as Ginger Beer and Light Beer remained some of the most favoured.