Constant reappraisal of the beer fixture and the way shoppers approach it is helping the brewers to keep their heads above water in a tough trading climate. The optimists believe they can sell the same amount of beer to consumers this winter as they did just prior to the millennium, but this will depend on whether consumers' enthusiasm for partying at home is as strong. The end of century peak boosted sales in the last quarter against a background of 4% growth and this year the brewers have still had to contend with an erosion of the their customer base by other drinks categories. Their traditional consumers are drinking more wine and the rapid growth of premium packaged spirits, such as Bacardi Breezer and Smirnoff Ice, have also taken their toll. Beer has also been one of the key weapons in the retailers' price war with big players using keen offers on beer to increase the traffic into the stores. The brewers can do little to shore up the price, so instead they have concentrated on providing what consumers want, including new formats. Beer, for instance, has become a planned purchase in the supermarkets rather than an impulse buy, which has fuelled the demand for multipacks. They have increased their share of the off-trade beer business from 44% in 1998 to 52%. The big winners of this trend are the leading beer brands. Top 10 Beer Brands By Value 1 Stella Artois 2 Carling 3 Budweiser 4 Foster's 5 Guinness Stout 6 Heineken 7 Kronenbourg 1664 8 Beck's Bier 9 John Smith's 10 Boddingtons Source: ACNielsen, MAT to Aug 2000 {{Z SUPPLEMENTS }}

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