07 January,2011 06:58 AM IST | | Poornima Swaminathan
Sales see a 60 per cent rise despite dipping temperatures
Once popularly consumed to beat the rising mercury levels, beer it seems is now the drink for all seasons.
According to the state excise department, the sale of beer soared higher than ever before.
Officials from the department said that there was a 60 per cent rise in beer sales in the months of November and December this year as compared to 2009.
The crackdown by the police on drink driving is attributed to the rise in beer sales
In November 2009, the onset of winter, the city consumed around 36,000 litres of beer while in 2010 the sales shot up to 49,000 litres. In the month of December too, the consumption was remarkably high.
Senior officials have seen a definite shift in the city's drinking preferences.
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"One of the primary reasons for people consuming more beer could be because of the heavy crackdown by the traffic police on drink driving," said a senior excise official.
The alcohol content in beer is between 4 to 8 per centu00a0making it a more preferred drink over vodka and whiskey.
As per the Motor Vehicles Act, the permissible Blood Alcohol Level (BAC) is 30mg/100 ml. BAC exceeding the level will invite a jail sentence and a fine, if the person is found to be driving at the time.
Hoteliers said that the club culture also attributed to the rise of beer sales. Some of them said that beer sales increased phenomenally during IPL matches.
"Mumbai has a large youth population that prefers to drink beer," said Nandkumar Chougale, deputy commissioner, Traffic, Mumbai.
"However, high amounts of beer consumed can result in high alcohol value in the blood and such people can be arrested for driving under the influence," he warned.
Incidentally, the consumption of wine in the city recorded a dip of nearly 8 per cent.
