America’s love affair with beer is alive and well, with 28.2 gallons of beer consumed per person last year – up from 20.8 gallons in 2011. (Thanks to the Washington D.C. group, The Beer Institute, for supplying some of these facts and figures.) Sales from the big breweries were modestly up, as were the sale of imports. But it’s the craft brewers who are drawing more people to the watering hole. Here are the top ten beer-loving states in the United States:
10. Maine Drinking an average of 34 gallons of beer per person, this state was a leader of the craft brew-movement of the late 80’s. Maine’s breweries now total 37.
9. Texas Living large, it boasts 86 breweries, and each Texan enjoys 34.4 gallons of beer each year. The craft breweries are truly “holding down the fort” in this, our largest state.
8. Nebraska At 35.2 gallons each, Nebraskans are serious beer drinkers. At 19, it has more breweries than California, one for each group of 115,000 people.
7. Vermont There’s one brewery for each 24,067 residents here – the most in the U.S.! Twenty-six breweries pump out enough beer to supply the needed 35.3 gallons for each person.
6. Nevada With Las Vegas, Reno and lots of “other legalized stuff,” lots of beer is swigged by visitors. Start your own brewery in Nevada to help supply each resident with his 35.8 gallons!
5. Wisconsin Can’t believe it’s ranking is not higher, but Wisconsin’s 87 breweries supply 36.2 gallons per capita. Like baseball? Go there – Go Brewers!
4. South Dakota With only 7 breweries, each person still swallows 38.9 gallons annually while welcoming the bikers to Sturgis, and visitors to the casinos and The Badlands.
3. Montana Third in beer-loving and people/brewery ratio, this vacation stop and Beer Lovers Mecca offers folks there 41 gallons per person.
2. New Hampshire With a brewer-to-citizen ratio in the Top 10, NH is a real beer drinking heavyweight at 43.9 gallons per person. There is no sales tax in New Hampshire, so neighbors save big bucks by making beer runs to this state!
1. North Dakota Where rugged workers toil during bitterly cold winters in oil fields and on gas pipelines, they truly love their beer. Public intoxication is NOT illegal in North Dakota, #1 in per-person-beer-consumption, at 45.8 gallons.
