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Beer has a storied history in the United States and was a common beverage in colonial America. Its influence on the nation’s culture remains strong – and a new study found which states appear to be most interested in beer.
“Wisconsin is still America’s beer capital,” reported consumer research firm Innerbody Research in the website’s recently released analysis of a year’s worth of Google Trends search data.
This marks the second year in a row the Badger State came out on top in the rankings. Innerbody labeled the Midwest “America’s beer belt,” since “Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Missouri all rank among the nation’s top 10,” and “every Midwestern state finishes in the top 20.”
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“The Midwest is one of many regions with a deep historic beer culture tied to both a long legacy of regional production and reinvigorated by craft brewers in recent decades,” Bart Watson, president and CEO of the Colorado-based Brewers Association, told Digital.
Wyoming came in second place for its search-interest score. Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa came in third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
States along the Pacific coast showed lower beer-related search interest, according to the study. Alaska, Washington, California, Oregon and Hawaii were in the bottom 10 for beer searches.
Beer remains deeply rooted in American culture, with a new analysis revealing which states show the most interest in the popular beverage. (iStock)
When it comes to specific brands, regional loyalty remains strong.
“The local dominance of a beer brand is almost entirely driven by historic entry advantage,” Jean-Pierre H. Dubé, a marketing professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, who has published research explaining the regional dominance of brands, told Digital.
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“Miller dominates in Wisconsin because it was first to market there. In contrast, Budweiser was first to market in St. Louis, where it also remains dominant. The prevalence of beer tastes in the Midwest reflects the fact that most of the world’s largest brewers in the late 1800s were in the Midwest in St. Louis, Wisconsin and Chicago – but especially Wisconsin.”
Samuel Adams “launched in Boston and was arguably the first successful craft brewer to become a dominant brand and obtain national distribution,” Dubé added.
Wisconsin, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa took the top five spots in a new ranking of states with the greatest interest in beer. (iStock)
Michelob Ultra generated the most search interest among the beer brands analyzed and also came out on top in Alabama, Nevada and Oklahoma.
“One of beer’s strengths is the many options for lower calories and ABV relative to other adult beverages,” Watson said.
“Light beers underline that quality and have been very popular ever since they were introduced. In recent years, interest in particular attributes, like low-carb beers, has also been a factor in consumer preferences.”
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Stella Artois was the most popular beer in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Along with other imported beers, Stella is “perceived as a premium beer in the U.S.,” though that isn’t its reputation in the brand’s home market of Belgium, Dubé said.
Dubé’s studies have found that exposure to certain beers when consumers first reach legal drinking age influences what they prefer later in life.
Some Americans appear to stick with hometown favorites when choosing beer, with brands including Miller, Budweiser and Samuel Adams showing regional strength. (iStock)
“Millennials in cities with few craft brands at 21 drink way more national-brand beer today – Bud and Miller – than millennials in cities with relatively more craft beer brands when they came of age,” he said.
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Beer Marketer Insights reported this year that Michelob Ultra had overtaken Bud Light and Modelo Especial to become the top-selling beer in the U.S. by volume.
Beer preferences can be shaped by where consumers live — and even by which brands were popular when they first reached legal drinking age, research suggests. (iStock)
Sales and search aren’t perfectly correlated, Watson said, and the Innerbody findings “signal something about new interest and brands as much as overall brand strength or sales.”
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“A sales map would undoubtedly look very different,” he said. “At the end of the day, beer is supposed to be fun, so no one should take them too seriously, and they are best argued over with friends and family with a beer in hand.”
