Where Beer Reigns Supreme: The Top 10 Booziest States in America
It’s no surprise that America enjoys a cold one, but the top 10 states for beer consumption may surprise you.
Flag-themed suds from the top beer-consuming states
Information for this list was culled from the excellent Learning to Homebrew, a site dedicated to the art of home brewing beer. Founder/CEO Joshua Bartlett collated the data by looking at things like population density, gallons of beer consumed per capita, barrel production/revenue, and the total number of breweries in a given area.
These are the top ten beer-drinking states in the United States
While it may come as a surprise, Montana ranks #1 in the nation for beer consumption, with a whopping 40.80 U.S. beer units consumed per capita and 92 operational breweries.
New Hampshire is a small state with a big beer culture, boasting 91 breweries and a per capita beer consumption of 39.8 units.
Even though North Dakota is one of the smallest states, its residents consume an average of 38.2 beer units per year.
South Dakota – with a population of under a million and only 22 breweries, South Dakota has one of the highest per capita beer consumption rates in the country at 38.2 units.
There are an impressive 133 breweries operating in Maine and residents down an average of 33.8 gallons of beer per year.
Vermont – Despite having a population of only slightly more than 600,000, Maine is home to no less than 68 breweries and a per-person annual consumption of 33.3 units of beer.
Texas, a massive state with a population of nearly 30 million, has 344 operational breweries and an annual per-person beer consumption of 30.9.
Beer consumption per capita in Wisconsin (33.6 units) is higher than in Texas (205 breweries).
Nebraska – The Cornhusker State is home to 55 breweries with a per capita beer consumption of 32.5%.
Tenth position goes to Nevada, whose residents consume an average of 33.2 beer units annually.
Bartlett made the following observation in light of the results:
For a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it isn’t the first location that comes to mind when someone thinks of drinking an ice-cold beer, the fact that Montana is the thirstiest state came as something of a surprise to me.
The number of rural rather than metropolitan states that choose beer over more typical non-alcoholic drinks was a revelation, and it transformed my image of how America perceives beer. Some of the most obvious variables that should have seen the epicenter of the craft beer movement and more established brewing businesses didn’t even make the list.
