Despite the popularity of craft breweries in B.C., it appears residents of Canada's west coast don't drink as much beer as the rest of the country.
New data from Statistics Canada suggests beer accounted for 34 per cent of all alcohol sales in British Columbia in the 2017-18 fiscal year. The vast majority of beers purchased were Canadian products, not imported.
It's the lowest percentage among all Canadian provinces, StatsCan said.
Beer accounted for more than 60 per cent of all alcohol sales in Nunavut.
Canada-wide, beer represented about 40 per cent of all liquor sales. Wine sales accounted for 32.4 per cent of alcoholic beverage sales federally.
StatsCan says wine sales grew by 4.6 per cent over the fiscal year to $7.5 billion, while beer sales were up 0.8 per cent to $9.2 billion.
Sale of Canadian beer was up 0.8 per cent, while imported beer sales increased by 2.5 per cent.
Canadian wine was also up – by 5.5 per cent – and imported wine sales were up 4.2 per cent.
Of the wines purchased in the fiscal year, Canadian buyers had a noticeable preference. More than half of bottles sold across Canada were red wines.
White wines made up about a third of purchases, followed by sparkling wines, then rose, fortified and other types.
