There's no end in sight to Australia's long and slow decline in beer drinking.
Even the managing director of Coopers Brewery, which has managed to generate a small increase in annual profits, has a glass half-empty view on where consumption of draught beer in Australia is headed as it plummets to levels last seen in 1972, despite a hefty increase in population since then. 
"At the moment we see it only continuing to decline," Dr Tim Cooper said on Thursday.
He terms it a "vicious cycle" as the downward spiral of keg beer sales is exacerbated by publicans worried about the decline who are demanding higher rebates and discounts to try and shore up their profits, which when combined with upward pressure on prices from twice-yearly mandatory excise increases, lift the price of a glass of beer for those walking into the pub.
Big liquor retailers such as Woolworths and Coles are also trying to protect their profits by demanding better margins in a shrinking market, and they are increasingly being joined by independent retailers wanting the same thing.
But still, Coopers lifted annual after-tax profits by 3.2 per cent to a record $28.9 million in 2014-15 even though beer volumes from draught beer sold through kegs has fallen to its lowest level in six years for the company. This is in line with declining beer consumption across Australia. Packaged beer sales were up by 6.3 per cent at Coopers.
Dr Cooper said the firm's independent status is helping it keep loyal customers in the "hipster" markets, with the northern NSW towns of Byron Bay, Ballina and Coffs Harbour a particular stronghold.
"We're very strong in northern NSW," Dr Cooper said.
NSW sales made up 24.8 per cent of the total sales from Coopers in 2014-15, just behind its home state of South Australia with 25 per cent. Victorian sales were 18.6 per cent.
But he said the broad industry decline is "troubling" because more than 10 per cent of Australia's total beer volume has disappeared from across the broader market in the past six years.
Coopers managed to generate a small increase in Australian market share to close to 5 per cent of the total market.
The rise in packaged beer sales offset the 2.7 per cent decline in keg beer volumes to 12.8 million litres. Total revenues increased to $235.1 million from $231.3 million.
The company also had to counter a significant rise in the cost of malt, one of the key raw materials in the beer-making process.
He said malt had increased by about $60 a tonne during 2014-15.
Dr Cooper said national beer volume in 2009 was 18.7 million hectolitres, which equates to 1.87 billion litres. He says Australians are now drinking less than 17 million hectolitres per annum, which are levels last seen in 1972.