America is awash with beer. Huge brands like Budweiser can be found in almost any bar, convenience store, restaurant, or liquor store. “The King of Beers” has been among the best-selling brands in the U.S for decades. At the far end of the spectrum, microbreweries may only make enough to fill a few thousand bottles.
Beer production is met with extraordinary demand. Americans drink about 28 gallons of beer per capita per year. And, the number is uneven. For some reason, the number is almost double that in North Dakota, and a fraction in Utah.
Despite the beer thirst among Americans, other countries have much higher per capita numbers, with the Czech Republic in first place followed by Namibia, Austria, and Germany.
To determine what we drink the most of — which brew is America’s best-sellers — 24/7 Tempo reviewed data from Beer Marketer’s Insights, an industry tracker and publishing company, ranking sales by barrels shipped in 2020. (Quantities are rounded off to one decimal place.)
Despite the rise of the microbrewing industry, at least three-quarters of the beer consumed in the U.S. is still produced by giants like Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch InBev (the world’s largest beer company) and Molson Coors Beverage Company..
The discerning German or British pub-crawler might cringe at the thought of quaffing a Bud Light or a Michelob Ultra, but these and similar brands are what we like to drink the most in this country.
In recent years, malt beverages that aren’t actually beer — like hard seltzers and hard iced tea — have emerged as alternatives to traditional beers, and they, too, are among the most popular choices for drinkers.
The best selling beer is Bud Light. Here are the details:
> Barrels shipped, 2020: 26.5 million
> Change from 2019: -6.50% — 14th largest decline
> Parent company: Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV
Click here to read America’s Top Selling Beers
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