Alcohol Policies Project

Center for Science in the Public Interest

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Washington, DC  2009

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A response to beer-industry propaganda

 

Beer Consumption in America

  • Beer made up 85.8% of all alcoholic beverage consumption (in total volume) in 2005.1

  • Americans consumed 7.4 billion gallons of beer in 2005.1

  • In 2000, Americans consumed an average of 27.1 gallons of beer per capita.2

  • Although on-premise beer consumption makes up 25% of the beer market, that category collects almost half of the retail sales dollars.1

  • A large portion of the beer consumed in the U.S. is concentrated in a small group: the top 10% of beer drinkers consume 43% of total reported beer consumption.3

  • Beer consumption accounts for 81% of all the alcohol consumed in hazardous amounts (defined as five or more drinks per day) in the U.S.4

  • Three U.S. beer companies dominate the domestic beer market, selling 81.9% of all the beer consumed in 2003:5

    • Anheuser-Busch --  51.9%

    • Miller Brewing Company -- 18.7%

    • Coors Brewing Company -- 11.3%

  • Twice as many adult men as women (over 21) drink domestic beer.1

  • Beer and Income:1

    • People earning $49,999 or less consume 39.1% of the regular beer in the U.S., while those earning $75,000 or more drink 41.1% of the regular beer.

    • More than a third of upper-income people (those earning $75,000 or more per year) drink regular, light, or imported beer. In contrast, lower-income people (those earning $30,000 or less per year) are from 11% to 53% less likely than upper-income people to drink those types of beer.

    • 60% of regular beer consumers earn incomes of $50,000 or more.

References:

1. Adams Beverage Group, Adams Beer Handbook 2006: 29.

2. Nephew, T.M., Williams, G.D., Yi, H., Hoy, A.K., Stinson, F.S. & Dufour, M.C. (2002). Surveillance Report #62: Apparent per capita alcohol consumption: National, state and regional trends, 1977-2000. NIAAA report. August 2003. Online: http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/surveillance62/CONS00.htm

3. Greenfield, T.K. & Rogers, J.D. (1999). Who drinks most of the alcohol in the U.S.? The policy implications. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 60(1):78-89.

4. Rogers, J.D. & Greenfield, T.K. (1999).  Beer drinking accounts for most of the hazardous alcohol consumption reported in the United States. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 60:732-739.

5. Beverage Marketing Corporation (2004). U.S. Beer Market Sluggish in 2003, Beverage Marketing Corporation Reports. News Release, March 17, 2004. Online: http://www.beveragemarketing.com/news2pp.htm

Page updated June, 2007