There’s no doubting he knows a beer tap lever like the back of his hand.

But now he’s made room there for a shot list and cider range too, thanks to modern taste demands.

Mid-way between pouring a schooner of XXXX Gold Mr Allen, who is the duty manager of Mount Isa’s Overlander Hotel, points across the bar.

“You have a look at our fridge over there, now the fridge has over 60 different products,” Mr Allen said.

This compares to 15-20 years ago when he said there were only five products.

“When we set up a bar 20-30 years ago, your bottle of Sars was the most important thing,” he recalled.

“And if someone wanted a shot, it was tequila – none of this other stuff.”

These days, the bold-tasting Sars softdrink is harder to find and the tequila a thin soldier amid the crowded army of glass spirit bottles.

Mr Allen said patrons are taking a liking to spirits such as jagermeister and anything that goes with a flavoured slushie.

But while market choice has broadened considerably, Mr Allen said consumers are still turning to the old faithful to quench they’re north-west thirsts.

“You’ll find 90 per cent of the time, people start on beer and then go to rum,” he said.

New data released from research firm Roy Morgan revealed that the number of Australians opting for the froth moustache is dropping.

In 2006, 46 per cent of Australians said they had consumed beer between the months of January to March.

This number dropped to 40 per cent for the same months this year.

It follows an overall decline in beer consumption over the last half-century, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Data released from the ABS in May this year show that while beer once made up three quarters of all booze consumed, it now accounted for 41 per cent of alcohol.

In his long history as the man on the other side of the counter, Mr Allen has worked in many towns including Brisbane, Toowoomba, Roma, Mareeba, Warwick and Kingaroy, before settling in Mount Isa.

When asked if north-west patrons are catching onto the trend of light beer, his response was as cut-throat as his patrons’ choices.

“No. A bloke that can’t drink his piss will still drink heavy until he’s thrown out,” Mr Allen said.

This matched ABS’ data, which indicated Australian beer guzzlers preferred full strength as that type made up three quarters of consumption in 2013-2014.

Meanwhile, low strength rested on a rather parched two per cent for that same reporting period.​