There is a shifting preference among Australians in their choice of alcohol consumption in favor of premium drinks over traditional beers.

The change in alcoholic drink preference is shown by the cut in beer consumption from a 76 per cent shares in the 1960s to 44 per cent now.

"Traditional full-strength lagers such as VB, Carlton Draught and Tocheys are losing market share in favour of cider and premium, imported, low-carbohydrate and craft beer segments. Craft beers have grown in popularity and there are now close to 120 microbrewers in Australia," IBISWorld General Manager for Australia Karen Dobie said.

The shift would be accompanied by higher level of consumption which would boost per capita consumption to 10.61 litres in 2011. Industry research analyst IBISWorld forecasts the per capita consumption would even rise to 11.02 litres per capital by 2016.

As part of the increase in alcohol consumption, spending would also go up to $25.41 billion of which $9.04 billion would be spend in pubs, taverns and bars and $16.4 billion in liquor retailer stores, said Ms Dobie.

By state, residents of New South Wales would account for 39.75 per cent of alcohol purchases worth $10.11 billion, followed by Victorians (21.69 per cent), Queenslanders (13.97 per cent) and Western Australians (12.17 per cent).

Although wine is more expensive than beer, Aussies did not seem to mind paying more to have a taste of their favourite blend. As a result, wine spending is going up at an annual rate of 3 per cent in the past decade.

Topping the wine preference of Australians is white whine which accounts for 49 per cent of wine consumption, followed by red wine at 34.8 percent.

Despite Australians consuming higher levels of alcohol on a per capita basis compared to Americans and Britons, Ms Dobie said Aussies are growing in their awareness of dangers of binge drinking. However, she pointed out the rising popularity of low- and mid-strength beer and wine are indicators that Aussies will not be heavily affected by more sensible drinking patterns.

On a per capita basis, Aussies overtook Britons in alcohol consumption in 2011. In 2010, Australia's per capita alcohol was 10.48 litres while that of Britain was 10.6 litres.

As Aussies increase their alcohol consumption total spending for hard drinks is expected to reach $30 billion in 2016/17, IBISWorld forecast.