Sales at the largest Australian-owned brewery and third-largest beer group, Coopers, hit an all-time high last year, when they rose 7.4 per cent to 77.3 million litres of beer.

Managing director Tim Cooper said the company now has 5 per cent of the Australian beer market, which declined 3 per cent in 2014.

“We are growing against a ­declining market.”: Coopers managing director Dr Tim Cooper. Credit:David Mariuz

"We are growing against a ­declining market," he said.

Dr Cooper said people had switched to cider and wine from beer because it was becoming more expensive thanks to biannual tax increases to keep pace with inflation.