Official statistics show the volume of beer consumed by Australians per capita has slipped to a 62-year low.

Consumption of alcohol data compiled by the Bureau of Statistics reveals the average person consumed 4.56 litres of pure alcohol through beer during 2009-10.

The per-capita volume was at its lowest since it was recorded at 4.52 litres in 1947-48. By contrast, the highest level was 9.22 litres per person in 1974-75.

Consumption of full-strength beer fell in 2009-10, while consumption of mid-strength beer rose slightly.

In contrast, consumption of wine was at an all-time high, with 3.81 litres pure alcohol consumed through wine per person in 2009-10.

The average amount of pure alcohol consumed through spirits and pre-mixed drinks has also dropped to 2 litres, down from a record high of 2.26 litres in 2007-08.

The drop follows the 2008 introduction of the alcopop tax, which raised the price of pre-mixed drinks in an attempt to curb teenage binge drinking.

In total, there were 12.8 million litres of pure alcohol available for consumption in Australia from pre-mixed drinks in 2009-10 compared with 13.1 million litres in the previous year.

Overall, there were 10.4 litres of pure alcohol available for consumption per person aged 15 years and over in 2009-10, the same as in 2008-09.

This equates to around 2.3 standard drinks per person per day.

Editor's note: (June 15) this article has been adjusted to make it clear that the figures relate to pure alcohol consumed through beer and wine, not the actual amount of beer and wine consumed.