GERMANY and beer go together like Porsches and the autobahn, but health-conscious residents are eschewing the country's traditional beverage in favor of juices and bottled water, sending suds sales slipping.

According to a government report released yesterday, the amount of beer sold in Germany fell by 2.7 percent in 2007 to 10.4 billion liters, a drop of 290 million liters from 2006.