Asia = Largest beer producer in the world.

When you think of large beer producers around the world, the European nations are probably some of the first to come to mind. From the Oktoberfest in Germany, the infamous Belgium ales, and popular pub scene in England, it is clear just how much beer is a part of European cultures. Interestingly enough, though, earlier this month Asia overtook Europe as being the #1 beer producer in the world.

The Telegraph reports:

Asian beer manufacturers produced 103 billion pints of beer in 2009, marking an increase of 5.5 per cent compared to the previous year. Defying cultural stereotypes of beer-swilling Europeans, it is the first time that Asia has assumed the top spot in the world's beer producing since annual records began in 1974 by the Kirin Institute of Food and Lifestyle.

Also interesting, is the Japanese beer market does not seem to be a contributing factor to this as it experienced a 2% drop in the same period of time. While Japan is experiencing a slump, the rest of Asia is expected to grow considerably as per capita consumption remains relatively low, which clearly explains the recent trend of Japan investing in foreign markets (read the previous posts for more).