Beer sales for first eight months of this year up by 2.2%

Domestic beer sales for the first eight months of this year are up by 2.2% on last year's figures, revealed the Czech Beer and Malt Association on Sunday. But a surprise came in the form of beer sales for the months of July and August, which had been unexpectedly low. July and August's beer sales were actually down on last year's - a result which those in the industry are attributing to last year's exceptionally strong sales throughout the summer months. Despite the setback, sales of Czech beer are expected to go up by somewhere in the region of 2 - 3% this year. And beer production is expected to rise above the golden 20 million hectoliter mark for the first time. Last year, the Czech Republic produced some 19.8 million hectoliters of beer.