"Women and beer are a perfect match"

The picture above is not really representative for Belgian women. In fact, only one of the three ladies should have had a beer in her hands, at least if we follow the poll's conclusions.

Beer is beaten by wine, non-alcoholic beverages and hot drinks, but despite this the VLAM is talking of "a perfect match" between women and beer: "We see that 62 per cent of the women, whether they like drinking beer or not, find that beer is not a man's prerogative and that it fits women as well as men."

9 in 10 women are proud of the Belgian beer tradition and say it is a misconception that women only opt for fruit beers. "Women drinking beer regularly, will choose a normal ale or a special beer, while occasional drinkers will go for a fruit beer."

A majority of 58 per cent does not agree with the statement that drinking beer clashes with the female image. Breweries are trying to reach more women and are paying more attention to nicely shaped glasses to offer a stylish beer, it can be heard.

The research was carried out by iVox and involved 1,000 women between 25 and 54 years of age. The participants are deemed representative for the whole population.