Beer Index – A bit different from ‘Beer Of The Month!’
Everyone’s heard of the ‘Big Mac Index’ – where the affordability of a country is expressed as the price of a Big Mac. It’s irrelevant to me, I don’t like Big Macs. I’d rather eat a large pie filled with warthog (which I’ve done in South Africa!).
However, I’d rather use a more useful index, such as my own ‘Beer Index‘ – something that most people can understand. Unfortunately, beer does not come in a ‘standard global size’, so some calculations are required to obtain an accurate unit price.
However, just for you, I’ve been a big nerd and have worked out the price of beer per litre, in Australian dollars. Here is the first Beer Index I created (prices were correct at the time when I tried them), and does not represent the entire suite of beers that I’ve sampled throughout my travels – I’ll add more to the list when I travel to a new place!
| Ranking | Country | Beer | Volume | Local Currency | Australian Currency | Price per litre ($AUD) |
| 1st | Argentina | Quilmes | 970 ml | 1.2 Pesos Argentinos | $0.60 | $0.62 |
| 2nd | Kazakhstan | Tyan Shan | 1000 ml | 100 Tenge | $0.90 | $0.90 |
| 3rd | Zimbabwe | Zambezi Lager | 375 ml | 300 Zimbabwe Dollars | $0.50 | $1.33 |
| 4th | Bolivia | Pacena | 375 ml | 3 Bolivianos | $0.60 | $1.60 |
| 5th | Philippines | San Miguel | 375ml | Philippine Pesos | $0.66 | $1.75 |
| 6th | Uruguay | FNC Pilsen | 375 ml | Pesos Uruguayos | $0.70 | $1.87 |
| 7th | Indonesia | Bin Tang | 375 ml | 6000 Rupiah | $0.76 | $2.03 |
| 8th | Namibia | Windhoek | 375 ml | 6 Namibian Dollars | $0.80 | $2.13 |
| 9th | South Africa | Castle Lager | 375 ml | 6 Rand | $0.80 | $2.13 |
| 10th | Swaziland | Amstel | 375 ml | 6 Lilangeni | $0.80 | $2.13 |
| 11th | Portugal | Super Bock Green | 375 ml | 0.5 Euros | $0.80 | $2.13 |
| 12th | Turkey | Efes Pilsen | 600 ml | 1.5 Million Turkish Lira | $1.50 | $2.50 |
| 13th | Chile | Cristal | 375 ml | 430 Pesos Chilenos | $1.00 | $2.66 |
| 14th | Peru | Cusqena | 375 ml | 5 Nuevo Soles | $1.23 | $3.28 |
| 15th | Brazil | Skol | 375ml | 2 Reais | $1.31 | $3.49 |
| 16th | Kenya | Tusker | 375 ml | 100 Kenyan Shillings | $1.67 | $4.44 |
| 17th | Malawi | Kuche Kuche | 375 ml | 200 Malawi Kwacha | $1.79 | $4.76 |
| 18th | Zambia | Mosi Lager | 375 ml | 8000 Zambian Kwacha | $1.91 | $5.10 |
| 19th | Tanzania | Kilimanjaro Lager | 375 ml | 2000 Tanzanian Shillings | $1.93 | $5.14 |
| 20th | Morocco | Stork | 375 ml | 12 Dirham | $2.00 | $5.33 |
| 21st | Egypt | Stella Local | 375 ml | 8 Egyptian Pounds | $2.00 | $5.33 |
| 22nd | Botswana | Black Label Lager | 375 ml | 6 Pula | $3.00 | $8.00 |
| 23rd | New Zealand | Speights | 375 ml | 4 New Zeland Dollars | $3.08 | $8.21 |
| 24th | Austria | Gosser | 375ml | 2 Euros | $3.20 | $8.53 |
| 25th | Australia | James Boags Draught | 580 ml | 5 Australian Dollars | $5.50 | $9.48 |
| 26th | United States | Various Micro Brews | 600 ml | 6 US Dollars | $6.60 | $11.00 |
| 27th | Kosovo | Rakija | 750 ml | 6 German Deuchmarks | $5.00 | $13.33 |
| 28th | Ireland | Guinness | 570 ml | 4.5 Euros | $9.00 | $15.78 |
| 29th | Scotland | Lots of them | 570 ml | 3 Scottish Pounds | $9.00 | $15.78 |
| 30th | Northern Ireland | Caffreys | 570 ml | Northern Irish Pounds | $9.00 | $15.78 |
| 31st | Wales | Lots of them | 570 ml | 3 Pounds | $9.00 | $15.78 |
| 32nd | England | Lots of them | 570 ml | 3 Pounds | $9.00 | $15.78 |
| Ineligible* | Spain | Estrella | 375 ml | Ineligible | Ineligible | Ineligible |
| Ineligible* | Italy | Peroni | 375 ml | Ineligible | Ineligible | Ineligible |
| Ineligible* | Switzerland | Lots of them | 500 ml | Ineligible | Ineligible | Ineligible |
* These entries were deemed ineligible because relatives or friends were constantly shouting beers.
I haven’t included any Home Brew Beer on here (here’s a book on how to make beer!) – but if I’m in your country and taste it, I’ll include it!
Apparently, if you’re saving up for that trip overseas and want to develop your own Beer Index, this guy has developed a guide to Making Money While Drinking Beer!
And here is my beer label collection. This is not an accurate sample of the beers that I’ve road tested (some of these beers I had to sample on numerous occasions to make sure they were good). If I find some more, I’ll add them!
The Travel Tart writes about the funny, offbeat and weird aspects of world travel today. He's always looking for an excuse to travel and shamelessly dedicates his life to pursuing as many travel junkets as possible! 
Nice list there, but where is Germany!? Come on man, nothing beats a nice room temperature Hefewiezen. Cheers! Carly S.
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anthony Reply:
February 15th, 2011 at 8:32 am
Ha ha, but I haven’t been to Germany yet! I love their beer, but only the countries I’ve been to make the Beer index!
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I hate to see that we have the most expensive beer in Britain. Thanks to our government increasing taxes on them whenever they get a chance with silly excuses. Nevertheless I think we make the best beers in the world.
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haha! I love it – now I’m booking a trip to Argentina
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I completely agree with the Beer Index. However, wouldn’t you have to base it on
each country’s domestic brew that most people drink? For example, for the US you
samples microbrews. However, they are much more expensive and most Americans don’t drink them on a regular basis. Also, imports are more expensive in most countries. So, using these as the sample would make the cost of living seem higher than it might be. Unless, of course, you only sample the premium beers of countries.
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One that needs to be tried: Alhambra in Granada, Spain. Only in Granada. They make it in the city and it’s icy cold. Maybe it’s just because it was the first legal booze I ever bought, but it holds a very special place in my heart.
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