Coopers had a record breaking 2014, selling an 77.3 million litres of beer in Australia, up 7.4 per cent on the previous year.

The Australian-owned brewer managed an all-time sales record and in turn garnered 5 per cent of the Australian beer market, according to managing director Doctor Tim Cooper.

“We are growing against a ­declining market,” Cooper told the AFR.

Beer drinking in Australia has halved since a peak in the mid 1970s and we’re actually drinking less beer per head than at any time since the end of World War II.

The per head alcohol consumption has fallen through the 10-litre mark, and was 9.9 litres in 2012-13, equivalent to 2.2 standard drinks per day per person for every Australian aged 15 years and over.

“This is the lowest level since the mid-1990s,” Director of Health from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Louise Gates said.

Dr Cooper said biannual tax hikes on beer, as a result of inflation, had encouraged people to make the switch to cider and wine.

“Beer has the twice yearly ­indexation of excise. The price of beer keeps on going up twice a year, but wine and most cider is subject to the WET tax, and that only goes up if the manufacturer puts the price of the product up,” he said.

However, Dr Cooper said his beer company has managed 22 years of growth because its products are part of the “premium market” of more expensive beers.

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