This statistic shows the results of a survey conducted in 2016 among over 8,000 adult Americans on their preferred light beer brand. The results were sorted by respondents' ethnic background. During the survey, 21.9 percent of respondents with an African American background stated their preferred light beer brand is Bud Light; 20.9 percent of Asian American respondents, 21.3 percent of Hispanic respondents, and 18.9 percent of Caucasian respondents said the same.

This statistic shows the beer consumption share in the United States in 2020, by category. In that year, the consumption of light beer took the largest share with 39.8 percent of total beer consumption in the United States.

Beer industry

Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in the United States. The majority of U.S. consumers showed a preference for light beer during that year. In contrast to regular beer, this variety has reduced alcohol content and calories. Bud Light was the nation’s leading beer brand, followed by Coors Light and Miller Lite. The Bud Light brand generated over two billion U.S. dollars in sales in 2017. It is owned and manufactured by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the largest brewing company in the world in 2018. Craft beer had a consumption share of nearly 11 percent in 2020. This type of beer is made by small, independent and traditional brewers. According to the American Brewers Association, craft breweries should produce only up to six million barrels of beer annually. Moreover, only less than 25 percent of the brewery can be owned or controlled by a non-craft brewer. The cities of Portland and Seattle had the highest craft beer sales between 2014 and 2015. Samuel Adams was the leading craft beer brand during this period, generating over 263 million U.S. dollars in sales. This brand is owned by the Boston Beer Company, the country’s second-largest craft brewer in 2014, based on volume sales. The U.S. had more than 8,880 craft breweries in 2020.

The consumption of beer amounted to approximately 2.65 million 2.25-gallon cases in 2023. This was a decrease compared to the previous year. Beer in the United States Beer is a widely consumed beverage in the United States and around the world. It is made from water, malt, hops, and yeast as basic ingredients. There are 9,709 breweries located in the United States. The number of beer brewing companies has continuously increased during the last decade. In comparison, there were 2,670 breweries in 2012. The value of the beer market in the United States amounts to around 120 billion U.S. dollars. The market took a considerable hit during the first COVID-19 pandemic year of 2020 but has recovered since. The market for beer in the United States is forecast to further increase in the coming years and to be valued at 145 billion dollars by 2027. The beer excise tax rates in the United States vary substantially by state. Tennessee has the highest beer excise tax rate with 1.29 U.S. dollars per gallon of beer. Wyoming taxes beer the least at just 2 cents per gallon. The global beer market The Belgium company Anheuser-Busch InBev is the largest beer company in the world, with sales amounting to almost 58 billion U.S. dollars. The company owns well-known global brands such as Budweiser, Corona Extra, Michelob ULTRA, and Stella Artois. The volume of beer produced worldwide amounts to approximately 1.89 billion hectoliters annually. From 1998 to 2011, global beer production continuously increased and has remained relatively steady since. China is the leading beer-producing country worldwide. More than 360 million hectoliters of beer are brewed in China annually. The United States and Brazil follow in second and third place, with production volumes of about 194 and 147 million hectoliters of beer, respectively.

This statistic illustrates the share of people who consume beer regularly in the United States in 2022. The results were sorted by age. In 2022, 19 percent of respondents aged 21 to 29 years stated they consume beer regularly.

Light beers dominate the domestic beer market in the United States. Six of the top seven beers in 2017 were light beers. The top three, Bud Light, Coors Light, and Miller Lite, collectively controlled over 36 percent of the domestic market. This market share translates to 2 billion, 1 billion, and 900 million dollars in sales for Bud Light, Coors Light, and Miller Lite respectively.

Light beer explained

Light beer was invented in the United States in 1967. Light beer is either lower in alcohol or calories or both, compared to regular beer. Lower calorie content is achieved by reducing both alcohol and carbohydrate levels as both contribute to the overall calorie content of beer.

Who’s drinking it?

The highest share of Bud Light and Coors Light consumers were adults aged between 18 and 29. As light beer is generally cheaper than regular beer, and easier to drink in excess, this may be part of its appeal to the younger generation.

In 2023, around 4.7 percent of persons with a Black or African American ethnicity claimed to have heavy alcohol use in the past month. Heavy use refers to five or more drinks on the same occasion on each of five or more days in the last 30 days. This statistic displays the percentage of persons in the U.S. aged 12 or older who had current, binge, and heavy alcohol use in the past month, by race/ethnicity, in 2023.

The age group of craft beer drinkers most likely to drink craft beer weekly in the United States were 35 to 44 year olds. In 2020, 59 percent of craft beer drinkers within that age range stated that they drank the beverage weekly.

In 2023, approximately 2.04 billion liters of beer were sold in Canada. Beer sales volume has been declining in Canada for years.

Beer industry in Canada - additional information

More than 65.1 liters per capita of beer were consumed by Canadians in 2022. Canadians aged between 18 and 34 are the largest consumers of beer in Canada. Figures show that around 39.1 percent of domestic beer consumption was accounted for those within this age group. More than half of consumers prefer to drink their alcoholic beverages at home, enjoying it with their spouse or a small group of people. Surprisingly, though, 20 percent of Canadians enjoy drinking alone.

The beer market in Canada is lead by two large beer manufacturers: Anheuser-Bush InBev and the Molson Coors Brewing Company. The Belgian-Brazilian brewery, Anheuser-Busch InBev, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, is one of the leading brewing company in Canada. The company controls over 38 percent of the Canadian beer market and generated sales of 2.45 billion U.S. dollars. Highly popular global beer brands, such as Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois, are owned by Anheuser-Bush InBev. Its closest competitor, the Molson Coors Brewing Company, was formed in 2005 by the merger of Molson in Canada and Coors of the United States.

Despite declining sales and consumption, the Canadian beer industry has been forecasted to see growth in export revenue in the coming years. The beer brewing industry exported approximately 199.2 million U.S. dollars of beer in 2018 and export figures are projected to increase to almost 235 million U.S. dollars by 2024.

This statistic shows the share of Americans who drank Keystone Light in the past 3 months in 2018, by age. In that year, 12.97 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 years stated that they drank Keystone Light in the past 3 months.

This statistic shows the beer market share of Bud Light and Coors Light in the United States in 2014, based on shipment value. In that year, Coors Light controlled 8.2 percent of the U.S. beer market. Bud Light was the undisputable market leader with more than double the share. Both brands were rated among the top selling domestic beer brands in the United States in 2014.

This statistic shows the share of Americans who drank Coors Light in the past 3 months in 2018, by age. In that year, 32.64 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 years stated that they drank Coors Light in the past 3 months.

In 2023, it was estimated that nearly 61 percent of those aged 26 to 29 years in the United States were current alcohol drinkers, the highest rate of all age groups. Those aged 26 to 29 also had the highest rates of binge alcohol use. Although the legal age to consume alcohol in the United States is 21, around 31.1 percent of those aged 18 to 20 years were already current alcohol users. Binge drinking in the United States Binge drinking is commonly defined as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks on one occasion for men and four or more drinks for women. Binge drinking is most common among adults in their 20s, and more common among Hispanics and Whites than other races or ethnicities. The states with the highest prevalence of binge drinking are North Dakota, Montana, and Iowa, while Alabama has the lowest prevalence of binge drinking of all U.S. states. In 2022, almost 22 percent of the population of North Dakota binge drank in the past 30 days, with the overall prevalence rate in the United States around 17 percent at that time. High school alcohol use Although alcohol use among teens remains a problem, the annual prevalence of alcohol use among those in grades 8, 10, and 12 has decreased dramatically over the past two decades. In 2023, it was estimated that a combined total of 30 percent of those in grades 8, 10, and 12 had used alcohol in the past year. In comparison, the annual prevalence rate of alcohol use among these grades was just over 67 percent in the year 1991. The 30-day prevalence of alcohol use for these grades has also decreased significantly. In 1991, around 40 percent of those in grades 8, 10, and 12 used alcohol in the past month, while in 2023 this rate dropped to just 14.3 percent.

This statistic presents the results of a survey among U.S. adult beer drinkers. The survey was fielded online in February 2015, asking the respondents about the importance of the factor "local" when they purchase beers. Some 45 percent of the respondents aged 21 years and older indicated to believe that "local" is an important factor when buying beer.

This statistic shows the share of Americans who drank Labatt Blue in the last 3 months in 2018, by age. In that year, 5.02 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 years stated that they drank Labatt Blue in the last 3 months.

Gen Z respondents in the United States were the most likely to indicate that they were drinking more non-alcoholic drinks in 2022 than the year prior. In contrast, only eight percent of Baby Boomers stated that they had increased their consumption of beverages such as non-alcoholic beer.