What state drinks the most beer

Studies have shown that people across the United States have been throwing back more alcoholic beverages during the pandemic than before COVID-19 hit. In fact, in one Michigan survey, one in five people deemed alcohol to be an essential product during pandemic lockdowns.

While some people were brushing up on their mixology skills as a way to pass the time at home, others were turning to a glass of ice cold beer to wash away their quarantine stress. So, which states drink the most beer?

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Vinepair.com poured over data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to determine which states consume the most beer -- both on a per capita basis as well as total gallons of beer consumed.

The analysis found that Midwesterners drink the most beer, while those in the Northeastern region drink the least. However, residents in one New England state by far drink the most beer per capita. That title goes to New Hampshire, and it's likely because the state has no tax on alcohol.

Rounding out the top five states that drink the most beer per capita are Montana, Vermont, North Dakota and South Dakota.

If you look at which states drink the most beer overall, it's no surprise that highly populated states such as California, Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania top the list.

How does your state compare to the rest? Click here to see the full rankings.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, which state is the thirstiest of them all? It’s actually New Hampshire, according to a new study tracking the amount of beer consumed by residents of all 50 states.

The Beer Institute Brewer’s Almanac tallied which states drink the most suds in gallons, and those numbers were made into an infographic created by Victor Depre of Hypntic Data. To add another layer of intoxicating intrigue, he also included each states’ most purchased beer brands based on Data Agency’s 2021 Beer Rankings Report.

New Hampshire leads the pack with 41.5 gallons consumed per capita, followed close by by Montana at 41.1 gallons. Both states prefer Budweiser, which was the most popular choice nationwide as the the leading label in 21 other states.

North Dakota takes No. 3 at 37.5 gallons, but the midwestern state opts for its home-grown Fargo Brewing label. Budweiser reenters the chat in South Dakota, which puts down 37.3 gallons per person to claim No. 4.

Vermont rounds at the top 5 at 34.0 gallons and a predilection for Bud Light, followed by Wisconsin at a somewhat surprising No. 6 with 33.7 gallons and another local fave, Spotted Cow.

InsideHook spotted the study on Twitter and notes that consumption rates in the top top two states double that of the least beer-drinking state, Maryland at 19.7 gallons. Connecticut (19.8), New Jersey (20), Utah (20) and Rhode Island (20.1) round out the bottom five.

Click here to see an interactive version of this infographic and here to find out where your home state ranks in beer consumption.

Beer consumption hasn't actually increased because of Covid

Thanks to changes in legislation passed by Congress in 2017 to assist small brewers, the number of breweries in the United States has grown by nearly 400% over the past decade and Americans can now select from more than 20,000 beer brands when they have a hankering for a cold one.

In New Hampshire, based on 2020 data collected by Top Agency and The Beer Institute, the majority of state residents reach for a Budweiser. It’s fitting that Granite Staters reach for the King of Beers as New Hampshirites actually lead the nation in consumption of beer per capita with the average adult in the state age 21+ drinking 41.5 gallons annually.

The data, which found that of-age Americans drank almost 26 gallons of beer on average in 2020, determined Montana came in second in consumption of beer per capita at 41.1 gallons per adult annually followed by North Dakota (37.5), South Dakota (37.3) and Vermont (34). Those states nearly doubled the consumption rates of the lowest-drinking states Maryland (19.7 gallons per capita), Connecticut (19.8), New Jersey (20), Utah (20) and Rhode Island (20.1).

Here’s a visualization of the data:

Mapped: Beer Consumption in the U.S. 🍻This piece by Victor Dépré is part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, featuring work from the world's top data-driven talent ✅

View interactive here: https://t.co/kP0EdbKOk1 pic.twitter.com/TYJoP1Tlhs

With the third summer of the pandemic rapidly approaching, there’s a widely held assumption that Americans are drinking more to help deal with the stress. However, new research conducted by Echelon Insights on behalf of the Beer Institute indicates that’s not actually the case and that a majority of people reported drinking about the same amount of beer with approximately the same frequency since the onset of the pandemic.

“Many people think that over the course of the pandemic people have been sitting at home drinking more beer than ever before and that’s simply not the case,” said Beer Institute President and CEO Jim McGreevy. “Although many news reports erroneously stated that beer consumption has increased during quarantine, the perception that people are drinking more is false. The survey results match the dramatic decline we’ve seen in retail beer sales, especially since many gathering places where draft beer is served, such as stadiums, concert venues, bars, and restaurants, had to close or were limited in their operational capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Given McGreevy’s job, it’s probably worth taking those findings with a grain of salt. In New Hampshire, they’ll take ’em with an ice-cold Bud.

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Beer Consumption by State per Capita in the United States
Overall U.S. beer consumption per adult age 21 and over is around 28.2 gallons per person, per year. Breaking these numbers down further, the average adult over the age of 21 is consuming about 10 ounces of per day, or roughly one six pack per week.

1. North Dakota 45.8 gallons 2. New Hampshire 43.9 gallons 3. Montana 41.0 gallons 4. South Dakota 38.9 gallons 5. Wisconsin 36.2 gallons 6. Nevada 35.8 gallons 7. Vermont 35.3 gallons 8. Nebraska 35.2 gallons 9. Texas 34.4 gallons 10. Maine 34 gallons 11. Louisiana 33.9 gallons 12. Mississippi 33.9 gallons 13. Iowa 33.6 gallons 14. Delaware 33.6 gallons 15. Wyoming 33.0 gallons 16. South Carolina 32.7 gallons 17. New Mexico 32.4 gallons 18. Missouri 31.0 gallons 19. Hawaii 30.4 gallons 20. Oregon 30.3 gallons 21. West Virginia 30.3 gallons 22. Alabama 30.2 gallons 23. Ohio 30.1 gallons 24. Colorado 30.0 gallons 25. Arizona 29.5 gallons 26. Illinois 29.1 gallons 27. Alaska 28.7 gallons 28. Pennsylvania 28.6 gallons 29. Minnesota 28.5 gallons 30. Oklahoma 28.3 gallons 31. Kansas 28.3 gallons 32. Washington D.C. 28.3 gallons 33. Idaho 27.8 gallons 34. Florida 27.4 gallons 35. North Carolina 27.1 gallons 36. Michigan 26.8 gallons 37. Arkansas 26.7 gallons 38. Virginia 26.7 gallons 39. Rhode Island 26.3 gallons 40. Massachusetts 26.2 gallons 41. Tennessee 26.2 gallons 42. Indiana 25.9 gallons 43. Georgia 25.7 gallons 44. California 25.5 gallons 45. Washington 24.8 gallons 46. Kentucky 24.4 gallons 47. Maryland 24.2 gallons 48. New York 22.4 gallons 49. New Jersey 22.4 gallons 50. Connecticut 22.1 gallons

51. Utah 20.2 gallons