Peak Booze

Peak Booze was the time in England when alcohol consumption tripled, from an average of 3.9 litres of pure alcohol per person a year in the 1950's, rising to 9.5 litres of pure alcohol a year each in 2004. I saw Peak Booze in snapshots , coming home from America for a few weeks at a time. I did notice that things seemed to have got a lot drunker while I wasn't looking.
Peak Booze is seen as the direct consequence of moving from 3.5% beer to the 5% lager, and standing around banging down alchopops in crowded bars you couldn't sit down in.
What has changed is the adoption of the American pub as a restaurant model, where you have to be given somewhere to sit, and food to soak up the booze. Its fascinating to look at, how society is persuaded how to drink.
The next change will come when pot gets legalized, and the alcohol companies have to figure out how to attract happy stoners back to the fold. My bet is tincture infused cheese and wine parties.