London (AP) – The most beautiful place is always on the counter: The chorus of this hit song from the 1950s describes well the attitude towards life of many people in Britain.

Obviously, they found that beer only tasted great in pubs and during last year’s closings they turned more and more to wine and spirits. This is the result of a current analysis by the British Beer and Pub Association.

“The lockdowns and closings of pubs in 2020 have meant that British people have drunk more wine and liquor than in previous years, but less beer,” said association head Emma McClarkin. Overall, British alcohol consumption through wine and spirits increased by two percentage points, while that of beer fell by four percentage points. According to the information, overall beer sales fell nearly 15 percent last year.

He also consumed more alcohol with wine.

According to the association’s data, this means that, for the first time in the UK, more pure alcohol was consumed through wine and spirits last year than through beer. This is not good news for brewers and pubs, because beer is the main thing in pubs. Of ten drinks sold there, seven are beers, according to the association’s announcement. Brewers were unable to make up for lost business at the taps during the supermarket pandemic.

As they emphasize, this is not just about money for stakeholders. It’s also about health, because beer, at just 4.2 percent alcohol, is “great for moderate consumption,” says McClarkin. Whether pub goers, who have been able to get unlimited beer in British pubs since the summer, actually consume less alcohol, it seems at least questionable.

In any case, the association is confirmed in its argument by the announcement of the British Chancellor of the Exchequer a few weeks ago that the tax on beer would be lowered, but that the tax on high-alcohol alcohol would be increased. However, it is unclear whether this will halt the decline of pub and beer culture in Britain. The share of wine in British alcohol consumption has risen steadily since the 1970s, while that of beer has been declining for decades. The same goes for pubs. Even before the pandemic, there was often talk of a pub death. The running of the bulls has accelerated this development.