The World Cup has been a bonanza for beer in the U.S. Bars in Boston reported needing emergency deliveries to keep taps from running dry on some game days. Fans downed a total of 290,000 stadium beers during the six matches in Philadelphia, FIFA organizers said.But all that frothy foam obscures a cold reality: Beer sales have been struggling globally, and it’s unclear if soccer’s world championship tournament can reverse the trend despite having three countries and 16 cities as co-hosts this year. In the U.S., beer consumption has fallen steadily for a decade, according to the Brewers Association, a trade group for craft brewers. Canada has seen a similar decline, according to the national statistics agency. The Brewers of Europe trade association says the story is the same in the European Union.
Consumers are buying less regular beer and more ‘wellness’ drinksMany consumers are cutting back on alcohol for health reasons. Last year was the first time in Gallup’s polling that a majority of Americans – 53% -- said drinking “one or two drinks a day” was bad for one’s health. While sales of non-alcoholic beer have grown, they still make up only around 1% of the U.S. market, according to the Beer Institute, a trade group for brewers.
