Beer Consumption by State per Capita

[sflcowboy78]

I just found this interesting. I personally thought the more rednecks a state had the more beer it would consume.

As a rule of thumb, the colder the state, the more beer comption. New Hampshire was second with 43.4 gallons per year followed by North Dakota and Montana. But, the number one beer consuming state is Nevada at 44 gallons per year. The least is Utah. This list is from Beer Institute Research.

State
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
WyomingGallons/Year
30.6
32.4
36.4
27.6
26.0
33.4
23.2
35.4
33.8
29.5
32.7
30.4
31.3
28.3
34.4
30.0
36.8
37.1
31.2
26.1
27.8
29.3
31.3
35.1
33.4
41.5
36.6
44.0
43.4
24.1
37.8
23.0
30.2
41.7
33.5
27.0
30.6
29.6
28.0
37.0
39.0
30.2
37.4
19.5
31.4
29.3
27.9
31.3
38.2
36.4

 

[Beerthoven]

Nevada's higher than normal consumption rate can be attributed to all the tourists in Las Vegas.

 

[menschmaschine]

EDIT: This list seems to be incorrect. Go to Page 4 for the corrected list.

I threw it into an excel spreadsheet and sorted it by highest to lowest:

State Gallons/year
1 Nevada 44.0
2 New Hampshire 43.4
3 North Dakota 41.7
4 Montana 41.5
5 South Dakota 39.0
6 Wisconsin 38.2
7 New Mexico 37.8
8 Texas 37.4
9 Louisiana 37.1
10 South Carolina 37.0
11 Kentucky 36.8
12 Nebraska 36.6
13 Arizona 36.4
14 Wyoming 36.4
15 Delaware 35.4
16 Mississippi 35.1
17 Iowa 34.4
18 Florida 33.8
19 Ohio 33.5
20 Colorado 33.4
21 Missouri 33.4
22 Hawaii 32.7
23 Alaska 32.4
24 Vermont 31.4
25 Illinois 31.3
26 Minnesota 31.3
27 West Virginia 31.3
28 Maine 31.2
29 Alabama 30.6
30 Oregon 30.6
31 Idaho 30.4
32 North Carolina 30.2
33 Tennessee 30.2
34 Kansas 30.0
35 Pennsylvania 29.6
36 Georgia 29.5
37 Michigan 29.3
38 Virginia 29.3
39 Indiana 28.3
40 Rhode Island 28.0
41 Washington 27.9
42 Massachusetts 27.8
43 Arkansas 27.6
44 Oklahoma 27.0
45 Maryland 26.1
46 California 26.0
47 New Jersey 24.1
48 Connecticut 23.2
49 New York 23.0
50 Utah 19.5

 

[TurboBrew]

Kind of surprised to see New York so low. I guess they just drink liquor.

 

[Anbrew]

I can't believe we're so low in WA! Probably because of all these pesky wineries!

 

[shecky]

Fellow Nutmeggers, we must start drinking more.

 

[BrewDey]

Seems like overall population must have a lot to do with these rankings. The Dakotas, Montana, and NH are all way up there, but are pretty sparsley populated-so each beer consumed in effect counts for more. New York has so many people that even a large amounts of beer are spread pretty thin. Nevada probably wins because a large portion of the beer consumed there is by tourists who count towards the numerator-but not the denominator.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Seems like overall population must have a lot to do with these rankings. The Dakotas, Montana, and NH are all way up there, but are pretty sparsley populated-so each beer consumed in effect counts for more. New York has so many people that even a large amounts of beer are spread pretty thin. Nevada probably wins because a large portion of the beer consumed there is by tourists who count towards the numerator-but not the denominator.

Obviously they do not include homebrewing. I crush OH's average.

 

[Pyrenus]

Wonder why Utah is so low?

 

[Homercidal]

Wonder why Utah is so low?

The liquor thing, I'll bet.

 

[Austin_]

Are we looking at the same list? I followed the OP's original link and the per capita data puts Louisiana at 39.9 and a rank of fifth place, not 37.1 and a rank of ninth as shown above.

 

[Beerthoven]

Seems like overall population must have a lot to do with these rankings. The Dakotas, Montana, and NH are all way up there, but are pretty sparsley populated-so each beer consumed in effect counts for more. New York has so many people that even a large amounts of beer are spread pretty thin. Nevada probably wins because a large portion of the beer consumed there is by tourists who count towards the numerator-but not the denominator.

In Montana, people drink on average 41.5 gallons of beer per person per year, which is 18.5 gallons more than the average person in New York. In this respect, people in Montana drink more beer than people in New York, even though the absolute quantity of beer sold in New York is greater.

As a former resident of the state of Montana, I can personally vouch for this fact

 

[Kilgore_Trout]

Wonder why Utah is so low?

60% of Utah is mormon.

Mormons don't drink.

 

[BierMuncher]

I know I'm good for about a 100 gallons a year....

 

[aa8jzdial]

40 some gallons.
Shee, big deal. Hell I spill more then that.
That's only about a quart a day.

Ever wonder how long it takes to pee 40 gallons?
Especially if you are an old guy with prostate issues.
Like weeks and weeks of leaks and leaks.
sorry
r

 

[Malticulous]

60% of Utah is mormon.

Mormons don't drink.

Dang, I thought I made up for them. And anyway I've had beer with many, many Mormons. I think we all import beer form Nevada! :cross:

 

[shecky]

I know I'm good for about a 100 gallons a year....

You should declare statehood.:rockin:

 

[Bulls Beers]

I'm from New Hampshire so I'm proud to have contributed. I live in Mass now. With all the colleges and great bars, I can't believe we are so low on the list.

 

[Sager Brewing Co.]

Seems like overall population must have a lot to do with these rankings. The Dakotas, Montana, and NH are all way up there, but are pretty sparsley populated-so each beer consumed in effect counts for more. New York has so many people that even a large amounts of beer are spread pretty thin. Nevada probably wins because a large portion of the beer consumed there is by tourists who count towards the numerator-but not the denominator.

The population has nothing to do with it, thats the whole point of per capita.

 

[farmbrewernw]

I'm surprised at how low Oregon is, must be all of those winter warmers, you can't drink as much.

 

[brownsbrew]

The low consumption in Utah can be attributed to 2 things in my oppinion. 1. MORMONS (Obviously). 2. Any beer that has a ABV of 4% or higher must be sold in a state owned liquor store. The only one the state has to compete with is themselves. They control the supply and hence, they dictate the prices. Average price of "good beer" from the liquor store is $10-$16 for 6 beers. The only beers available at the grocery store or in gas stations are a small selection of watered down micro brews and beers like Coors, Bud, Miller, Natural light and my personal favorite PBR. Also, in order to go and drink in a bar you either have to buy a 2 week "temporary" membership or a 1 year "full" membership. Average cost of a temp... $8. Average cost of a year... $20. These memberships are only good at the bar, pub or tavern you buy them in. Long story short, local legislation makes it expensive to drink in Utah and Utahans are cheep. Also, unless you are a bar or a restaurant it is illegal to have a keg here.

 

[lordbeermestrength]

Long story short, local legislation makes it expensive to drink in Utah and Utahans are cheep. Also, unless you are a bar or a restaurant it is illegal to have a keg here.

Wow... sucks to be you. More reason to brew whatever ABV you want at home, eh?

 

[joe6pack]

I calculate NC's average to 0.882 twelve ounce beers per day. I definitely pull that average up.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

But, this excludes homebrewers. Maybe Utah is the new winner if that was included.

 

[tom777]

Just doing my part to keep South Dakota's average up there...:rockin:

 

[doubleb]

I can safely say I drink more than the average person in any state. As for the persons here at HBT, I doubt I drink more than average. I definitely brew less than average as well. What counts with me is not quantity, but the quality.

 

[Bert]

New Hampshire is probably unnaturally high because everyone from Massachusetts goes there to stock up since there's less tax, no deposit and they sell on Sundays.

 

[Sager Brewing Co.]

The low consumption in Utah can be attributed to 2 things in my oppinion. 1. MORMONS (Obviously). 2. Any beer that has a ABV of 4% or higher must be sold in a state owned liquor store. The only one the state has to compete with is themselves. They control the supply and hence, they dictate the prices. Average price of "good beer" from the liquor store is $10-$16 for 6 beers. The only beers available at the grocery store or in gas stations are a small selection of watered down micro brews and beers like Coors, Bud, Miller, Natural light and my personal favorite PBR. Also, in order to go and drink in a bar you either have to buy a 2 week "temporary" membership or a 1 year "full" membership. Average cost of a temp... $8. Average cost of a year... $20. These memberships are only good at the bar, pub or tavern you buy them in. Long story short, local legislation makes it expensive to drink in Utah and Utahans are cheep. Also, unless you are a bar or a restaurant it is illegal to have a keg here.

All of the BMC type beers are 4.1 and higher, so either you don't know what your talking about and just making stuff up. Or you think you know what your talking about but never thought to check your facts.

 

[eschatz]

Wow! I'm kinda embarrassed for Indiana. However, I'd like to think me and Pol are bringing that 28.3 gal/yr up a few points! :rockin:

 

[Malticulous]

check your facts.

Utah's law is 3.2 by weight, so it around 4% ABV. You need more information to figure the ABV exactly. Most of the big companies brew special batches for the market and the real versions are not available even in the liquor stores. If they make a 3.2 version that is all that will be sold in the state. It's lower in calories too.

The liquor store prices are not all that bad, some are even better than I've seen elsewhere. I bought some Erdinger Dunkelweizen for $1.80, Franziskaner is 2.10(both 500ml), SN is $1.12, and Maudite is 5.45 (750ml) if I remeber right. Everything is sold by the bottle. I go to Mesquite Nv. to buy beer a lot as do many others here. Sadly, legally you can only bring one quart in to the state at a time.

 

[Bigsnake]

Are we looking at the same list? I followed the OP's original link and the per capita data puts Louisiana at 39.9 and a rank of fifth place, not 37.1 and a rank of ninth as shown above.

It looks like the entire sorted list was messed up somehow if you compare other states as well.

 

[menschmaschine]

I noticed "District of Columbia" wasn't included in the original list. Maybe that messed it up somehow. Here it is from the link and sorted by ranking:

1 North Dakota 45.3
2 New Hampshire 43.0
3 Nevada 42.2
4 Montana 41.8
5 Louisiana 39.9
6 South Dakota 39.2
7 Wisconsin 38.3
8 Wyoming 37.9
9 South Carolina 36.9
10 Delaware 36.7
11 Mississippi 36.7
12 Nebraska 36.4
13 New Mexico 36.4
14 Texas 36.2
15 Iowa 35.3
16 Arizona 34.0
17 Missouri 33.2
18 Ohio 32.7
19 Alaska 32.6
20 Colorado 32.4
21 Hawaii 32.4
22 Oregon 32.4
23 Florida 32.0
24 Illinois 32.0
25 Vermont 32.0
26 Alabama 31.9
27 West Virginia 31.7
28 Maine 31.6
29 District of Columbia 31.2
30 Kansas 31.1
31 Idaho 30.7
32 Pennsylvania 30.7
33 Minnesota 29.8
34 North Carolina 29.7
35 Oklahoma 29.7
36 Tennessee 29.5
37 Virginia 29.1
38 Washington 29.0
39 Georgia 28.8
40 Indiana 28.6
41 Massachusetts 28.0
42 Michigan 28.0
43 Arkansas 27.2
44 Rhode Island 27.2
45 California 26.9
46 Kentucky 26.6
47 Maryland 25.7
48 New Jersey 23.8
49 New York 23.7
50 Connecticut 23.3
51 Utah 21.1

 

[Buildmark]

being from Illinois, looks like I have some catching up to do.