Does anyone still drink liquor in China in the future?

What are the main consumers of Chinese liquor?

You can see from the change curve of liquor sales in China in the past 20 years. 1997, 2002, and 2012 were inflection points in which the consumption of liquor suddenly fell sharply. They all correspond to the anti-corruption rectification after the transfer of the highest power., Generally, after three years of drastic decline, the sales volume of liquor has risen again. Its cyclical shock intensity is only about A-shares.

▍Chinese liquor production from 1994 to 2011

Although the Chinese liquor market showed signs of recovery in 2015, the recovery was only high-end liquor, and basically relying on price reductions. The 2015 Kandu Consumer Index showed that Chinese urban household liquor consumption has declined significantly—in the past three years, every 100There are 4 households who do not buy liquor anymore. What is worse than the sales volume is the production capacity. Nearly 70% of liquor companies in Guizhou Renhuai, the production place of "National Wine" Moutai, have stopped production.

In China, there is no correlation between goods and official consumption as high as liquor. Although it is not uncommon for people who like to drink a glass of liquor daily, official consumption is the absolute main force supporting liquor consumption. It may explain whyWhy do Chinese people who are not good at drinking naturally prefer spirits?

Unbelievable Liquor Culture

Which people in the world love to drink hard alcohol?

The so-called spirits refers to distilled spirits, which are generally divided into seven categories: Chinese liquor, brandy, whiskey, vodka, gin, rum, and tequila. The World Health Organization's Global Report on Alcohol and Health states thatIn China's alcohol consumption, hard alcohol accounts for 69% of alcohol consumption.

▍2010 Chinese alcohol consumption in 2010, strong alcohol accounted for 69%, beer accounted for 28%, red wine 3%

Even in Russia and Ukraine, where drunk wines are strong and drunkards, the total alcohol consumption of alcohol is only 51% and 48%, which is much lower than China. From this perspective, Chinese people can be regarded as the world's favorite.Wine nation.

Chinese's preference for spirits is also how to drink. Of the seven spirits, the other six types of spirits are commonly mixed with water, fruit juice, soda, cola, and sprite, while Chinese liquor is not mixed.Any mixture that dilutes alcohol. And, very rarely, the world uses Chinese spirits to accompany meals.

Of course, China ’s love of spirits is not the first in the world. The champion of spirits is North Korea, because 95% of the alcohol consumed by North Koreans comes from spirits.

Since North Korea since the late 1960s, hard alcohol has been the leader in all alcohol consumption

However, genetically, the Chinese are naturally not good at drinking.

The amount of alcohol in a person depends on the metabolic capacity of alcohol. After the alcohol is ingested into the body, alcohol is first decomposed into acetaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase ADH1B, and then it acts on acetaldehyde dehydrogenase ALDH2.It is converted into acetic acid, which is further decomposed into water and carbon dioxide.

The genetic variation of East Asian ancestors has increased the ability to metabolize ethanol by 100 times, and some people have a mutation in the gene that breaks down acetaldehyde into acetic acid, making the aldehyde dehydrogenation activity of acetaldehyde more than 100 times lower than normal genes.Times, the acetaldehyde accumulated in the body cannot be decomposed. A large amount of acetaldehyde accumulates, which causes the facial capillaries to dilate and become congested, because it is common in East Asians and is therefore called "Asian Red".

Approximately 36% of East Asians are “Asian Red” who blushes on drinking. The geographical distribution of “Asian Red” in South China is slightly higher than that in the North.

Does the northerner prefer to drink hard alcohol because of genetic reasons? No, because of the low consumption of alcohol in Chinese today, it is not even possible to fight genetically. The top 30 of the world ’s alcohol consumption are basically natural by nature.Europe and the United States, but South Korea can rank 20th, and even with China's 2010 peak liquor sales figures, per capita alcohol consumption of 6.7 liters ranked only 87th, lower than Japan and some Southeast Asian countries, But higher than China's good brother Pakistan.

▍Small Rock Marathon in Arkansas, USA, the water cup for athletes to fill the water was randomly poured into vodka

Liquor enthusiasts who have made a huge contribution to China's per capita alcohol consumption, very few really like liquor, and the unique hobby of intoxicating people is actually a must-have winery practice see the Elephant Association's previous article "Where do people drink most? ".

Most Chinese people find it difficult to accept the strong liquor flavor of liquor, and many people think that drinking is to get drunk. The annoying taste of liquor is just the price that drunk must bear; and the main goal of whiskey or brandy lovers isTaste the taste of wine, not drunk.

According to common sayings in the industry, liquor is made from koji and mashed mash, fermentation agent, and starchy raw materials, and is brewed by cooking, saccharification, fermentation, distillation, aging and blending.The difference between rum and liquor is mainly the difference in raw materials.

Why Liquor Is Hard to Drink

Liquor lovers will definitely feel unfair-compared with whiskey, vodka and gin which are also distilled spirits, Baijiu differentiates into more than ten flavors such as strong flavor and sauce flavor, which is famous for its rich taste.According to the test reports of Zhou Guangqi and Wang Kefei of the university, compared with vodka that is light and tasteless, 4 middle and high-end liquors, including fen, contain dozens to hundreds of times of impurities such as aldehydes and fusels. They are exactly what makes drinkers feel spicy., The main cause above.

Also, after diluting fenjiu with water, the body is immediately cloudy and the taste changes greatly. This is because there are many impurities dissolved in alcohol in fenjiu. When the concentration of alcohol decreases, the solution reaches the saturated state, and these impurities will precipitateThis usually doesn't happen with whiskey and vodka.

This is still the case for medium and high-end liquors. The level of low-end liquors can be imagined. According to the 2010 statistics of the China Wine Industry Association, two thirds of liquor companies in China are small workshops with less than 50 people.

Except for Maotai, Wuliangye, and other high-end liquors, which are made with pure koji, more than 70% of Chinese liquors will be blended with edible alcohol. This is not against the rules. Vodka pursuing pure taste can be said to be high-quality pure edible alcohol.Diluted by adding water—but China ’s industrial level does not produce good edible alcohol. According to the latest edition of the 2013 “Guide to the Adjustment of Industrial Structure,” alcohol production and liquor production are both “lagging technology and do not meet industry access conditionsAnd related regulations "countries restrict the development of industries.

Although Chinese liquor is also a distilled liquor, it has a different path from the saccharification link of whiskey, brandy and other distilled liquors. The latter is to saccharify by brewing barley malt and using its own amylase, and Chinese liquor is chosen to useAspergillus saccharomyces amylase is saccharified, and many of the by-products produced by this process are the source of the rich koji flavor in liquor.

Sake song on the market

The most ridiculous "horse urine" taste in most beers in China is also a similar reason. In order to reduce costs in the production of industrial Lager beer in China, rice is mostly used as a raw material. The aleurone layer of rice contains almost no starch, of whichIf the protein particles and fat particles are left untreated, the by-products of fermentation will have a great influence on the flavor of the wine.

And when Japan brews sake, the aleurone layer is polished away. Different levels of sake are brewed by taking only 39% or 27% of it, respectively."Seven points."

▍Sake brewing process

In the early days when the brewing technology was immature, Europeans drank the same purpose as today ’s Chinese, but also to get drunk, but this does not mean that they are willing to hold their noses and pour themselves.After the barrel technology has matured, the taste and flavor of spirits have become richer.

In order to make the entrance of spirits easier, the bartender chooses fresh fruits with rich aromas, bitter liquors that have been soaked in herbs and liqueurs with various spices, and mixes different spirits. The incorporation of brewing wine can soften the stimulation of spirits.Taste, fruits, herbs and spices can enhance the flavor of spirits.

Why are the race genes similar, but there is such a significant difference in wine culture in East Asia? The level of the brewing industry may be an important reason. Although Korea ’s alcohol consumption is large, 70% comes from Korean shochu at around 20 degrees. This shochu distillationThe craftsmanship and taste are similar to vodka, but it is reduced by half the degree according to the taste of Koreans, so both men and women can drink, and it is cheap, and a bottle of 360ml shochu is only RMB 6-10. And China's low-grade white wine at the same priceDrinking is likely to cause blindness.

▍Shochu is extremely popular in South Korea, and the advertisements should be more endorsed by girl idols

Taiwan's Jinmen sorghum wine is similar.Although it is made in the same solid state as Maotai and Wuliangye, the cost process is not much different. In Taiwan, it is a consumer product. The price is equivalent to one tenth of the equivalent liquor in mainland China.Cheap also only accounts for more than ten percent of the alcohol market share.

No one succeeds in liquor consumption

Since most people find liquor difficult to drink, why are older people keen on it? Besides the system, the more direct reason is that they do n’t have much choice.

The Chinese preference for liquor today is a product of a specific history. According to the materials of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of China in 22 years, the production of rice wine in the country was 1.5 times that of liquor, and the main producing areas were distributed from Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang to Guangdong and Guangdong.Eastern Region.

▍ 古人 酒 工艺

After the agricultural collectivization in 1958, it was almost impossible for farmers to extract some of the rations for self-brewed soil wine, and because rice wine can only be brewed with grain, the output was greatly reduced for the purpose of saving food.In the Jiangnan region, "wild starch" is even used to produce liquor.

For example, during the Cultural Revolution, the "wild starch" used in a liquor production in a winery in Wujiang, Jiangsu, was mainly Poria cocos, Guanzhong, Castanopsis fargesii, dried taro, dried taro, waste honey, fern root, pumpkin, longan kernel, etc.Almost all alcohol consumed by North Koreans comes from spirits, and the situation is similar.

However, as long as you understand the mainstream consumer groups of Chinese liquor today, you will know that it will have no successor. The consumer structure of popular FMCG beverages is generally parabolic—the majority of mainstream consumers in the age of 25-44After 45 years of age, consumption gradually declines with age. However, at present, half of the heavy consumers who drink liquor at least once a day are over 45 years old, and 44% belong to the bottom of society, which means that when this generation of alcoholics die, people who drink liquorPeople will be drastically reduced-given their health, this should not come too slowly.

▍The proportion of heavy consumers in China's economic level in the upper and middle tiers note: the foreign wine in the table is a collective name for imported distilled spirits, the same below

▍Proportion of heavy consumers under 45 in China

From the data point of view, the foreign wine dealers in China should be as panic as the liquor dealers. According to the 2013 China Wine Industry Circulation Development Report, the total value of Chinese wine imports in the year was US $ 28.40895 million, a year-on-year decrease of 3.3%. However, thisIn fact, it is also the result of anti-San Gong consumption. China's imported wines account for a large proportion of high-end wines. Unlike European and American countries, which are mainly used for self-drinking, most imported wines are drunk at night. Hypermarkets, tobacco hotels,Experience stores and other channels are in line with sales expectations.

However, unlike the fully saturated liquor market, foreign wine accounts for only 2% of the population in the Chinese liquor market, and half of them are in the same province-the consumption capacity of the Guangdong liquor market is about 46 billion yuan each yearYuan, wine consumption accounts for 50% of the country's total. Although entering the Chinese market for many years, wine has faced almost a whole cake.

Interestingly, foreign wine may be treated coldly by ordinary consumers in China, not because people elsewhere are more patriotic than Cantonese, but because of the psychological foundation laid by liquor. Even with the nearly double tariffs, China ’s China ’sCompared to high-end liquors, most foreign liquors are actually much cheaper, but the exquisite packaging and exquisite ornate facades of specialty liquors make many Chinese people who have been overwhelmed by the price of liquors dare not ask about its price.

Under the impact of the loss of consumer groups and the future of foreign wine, will Chinese liquor continue to dim tomorrow? Not necessarily. According to the New York Times, although liquor has little appeal to Westerners, it is based on liquorThe cocktail made by the wine has been welcomed by many people. This is the reason why the cocktail became popular in the early 20th century. During the ban on alcohol in the United States in the early 20th century, due to the poor quality of private wines, wine merchants used cocktails to cover up the poor taste.

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