Alcohol Consumption In The US In Saw Its Most Significant Volume Gain In Almost Two Decades

The net positive change for Red Blends was 22% for those under 40 years of age and 36% for those aged 40 and older. The net positive change for Sauvignon Blanc was 6% for women and 2% for dka breath smell men. When segmented by age range, the net positive change for those under 40 years was 14% compared to 2% for those aged 40 and older. When not diving into the world of merry-making, he puts his digital nomad lifestyle to work travel-writing about hidden culinary gems in Canada for National Geographic and about the happiest place on earth for Inside Hook. He also has authored three books, been a restaurant general manager, and lived in a tent for three years in Alaska. Other sources indicate that more “lesser-known” European lagers like Belgian lagers, Czech lagers, and German smoked lagers will become prevalent.

Furthermore, while multi-cultural consumers (African American, Hispanic, Asian, and Others) accounted for 37% of those of legal drinking age, they accounted for 39% of the beer volume and 41% of the spirits volume consumer, but only for 33% of wine volume consumed. The year saw a reversal in the volume declines from previous years seen in the wine category. While imported wines grew +2.5%, the tariffs placed upon certain EU states by the Trump administration saw growth from markets not affected by them.

Most adults who consume alcohol have done so recently, according to the July Gallup survey. This includes 32% whose most recent drink was in the last 24 hours, and 37% who most recently had one within the last two to seven days. Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand Americans’ experiences with alcohol and how they have changed over time. Survey data comes from Gallup and the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Survey. Data on Americans’ drinking habits comes from the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), and alcohol sales data is from the U.S.

One area of interest was low-alcohol wines which doubled their volumes in 2020, with many major brands entering the category. U.S. consumer demand for beer continues to shift to “premium options and new and exciting alternatives” when selecting the beverage to consume off-premise. Such offerings that have garnered consumer attention include craft beers (annual production of fewer than 6 million barrels) and imported and domestic super-premium beers (which were categorized in 2012 as priced at $22 and higher per case).

The percent change in total volume for certain beverages and the percent change in premium-and-above alcohol volume in 2022, as reported by IWSR are listed below. NielsenIQ researchers did find that it was not an “all or nothing” decision regarding non-alcoholic purchases, but rather 78% of those who purchased non-alcoholic beverages also purchased beer, wine, and spirits with an alcoholic beverage content. Consumer data published by Drizly in 2021 revealed that sales for non-alcoholic wine, beer, and spirits “place among Drizly’s fastest-growing subcategories year-over-year” and that “[n]on-alcoholic beer was the platform’s biggest non-alcoholic seller.” Of the three categories, non-alcoholic liquor grew 200% year-over-year.

1. In 2019, consumers aged 18 years and older drank, on average, 4.0 drinks in a seven-day period, but in 2021 that average was 3.6 drinks.
2. Of course, I can’t be representative of every single person in my age bracket.
3. The net positive change for Cabernet Sauvignon and Red Blends was 26% and 33%, respectively, for men and 10% and 40% for women.
4. With each new year comes a new set of alcohol beverage consumption statistics, trends, and predictions.
5. While the domestic beer category finished the year down -4.4%, the import side continues to attract consumers finishing the year up 3.1%.
6. Additionally, expect to see whiskey from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and other up-and-coming producing countries such as Italy, Wales, Netherlands, and Singapore enter or become more prominent in the U.S. market.

U.S. consumer expenditure on alcoholic beverages 2022, by category

Among those ages 35 to 54, the shares who do these things have remained relatively stable over time. Among adults who don’t drink, the most common reason given is that they just don’t want to, the Gallup survey found. About a quarter of nondrinkers (24%) say in an open-ended question that they have no desire to drink or do not want to. In fact, you’re welcome to share our images and information with your own audience for any noncommercial use. When it comes to your health and hard-earned money, it’s certainly an experiment worth trying. According to our data, recent decades have seen a definite surge in spending on alcohol, particularly in some places and populations.

Cosmetics consumer behavior in the U.S.

Aside from age range, who was harbor house sober living more likely to select beer as their beverage of choice? Compared to their counterparts, those with an annual household income of less than $50,000 (48%), males (53%), as well as those with a high school level of education or less (52%). While rose wine has grown in popularity over the past few years, according to the Beverage Trade Network, the “excitement about and growth in the segment may be waning.” You may wonder, “How much is a premium-and-above bottle of wine or spirits?” The following table provides price bands as published by IWSR, Forbes.com, Winefolly.com, and IRI. Americans 55 and older, on the other hand, are more likely than their counterparts two decades ago to say they do all of these things.

Though growth has slowed “after a peak in 2020 to 2021…the category is poised for robust gains in the coming years, spearheaded by no-alcohol and persistently strong recruitment levels.” The CAGR for no and low-alcoholic beverages from 2019 to 2023 was 25%. Americans drink less beer and more wine than they used to, according to the NIAAA. Since 1970, the peak year for beer consumption was 1981, when the typical American age 21 or older drank 36.7 gallons. Over those four decades, the amount of wine the average American drank annually rose from 3.2 gallons to 3.8 gallons. Meanwhile, consumption of distilled spirits dropped slightly, from 3.0 to 2.8 gallons.

A closer look at Gen Z

Among major metropolitan areas, San Francisco spent the most money on alcohol, both in terms of dollars spent and percentage of average income. That could reflect the city’s proximity to California’s wine country, or simply the Bay Area’s sky-high cost of living. At the southern end of the state, San Diego also spent big on booze, with average expenditures exceeding $850. The only other metropolitan area to spend as much was Minneapolis, although other Midwestern urban areas also had strong drinking cultures. Residents of Cleveland and St. Louis also spent more than 1 percent of their average income on alcohol.

The National Restaurant Association suggests that “uniquely spiced cocktail rims (Tajin, togarashi, etc.)” will be trending in 2022. While not exclusive to RTDs, according to Flavorman.com, 2022 beverage trends will be based on “the long-term effects of an ongoing pandemic…focus[ing] on celebrating life’s simple pleasures while striving for balance.” In an article published by WGSN, we should begin to see Chinese baijiu, a white spirit, “and the world’s most-consumed spirit, outselling whisky, vodka, gin, rum, and tequila combined,” become more prevalent.

People Tell Us Their Money Spent On Alcohol Each Week

Among all the RTD options, off-premise growth was the highest for spirits seltzers and spirits RTD cocktails, with vodka-based RTDs accounting for 58% of the dollar share. The next highest dollar share was for tequila-based RTDs, but the share was much lower at 17%. Othe NielsenIQ data for the 52-week period ending October 2, 2021, showed that sales for tequila-based RTDs grew 138%, rum-based grew 132%, and vodka-based grew 110%. Data indicate that consumers who purchase non-alcoholic products are also purchasing beverages with alcohol, and the percentage is increasing. In 2022, “82% of non-alcoholic drink buyers are also still purchasing drinks that contain alcohol.”  In 2023, 94% “of those who are buying non-alcoholic products continue to buy…products with alcohol.” The No and low-alcoholic beverage categories continue to grow in terms of sales and consumer interest.

As a full-time contributor, Hudson Lindenberger has been covering the world’s best beers, wines, cocktails, and dining for Forbes since 2020. He has covered many topics, ranging from trend-setting craft brewers to Napa Valley institutions, while keeping readers current on some of the best bottles in the market. He is also the host of the Booze Newz podcast on the WGN platform, where he talks to some of the biggest and most interesting names in alcohol. Between 2019 and 2022, while overall growth in the number of U.S. wineries grew 10% and the number of Californian wineries grew 7%, those in the Eastern U.S. (27 states east of the Mississippi River) grew 13%, accounting for 28% of the total wineries in the U.S. Of the states in the region, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia experienced the greatest increase in the number of wineries with growth rates of 14, 12, and 10%, respectively (Adams, 2022).

Still, other data indicated that in 2023, 52% of consumers aged 18 to 34 felt that “drinking in moderation is bad for your health,” an increase from 34% reported in 2018 for this age group. Fifteen percent of this age group indicated that alcohol was “not too harmful/not at all harmful” to those who consume it. When asked about marijuana consumption, 52% of participants aged 18-to-34-years responded that marijuana was “not too harmful/not at all harmful.” “A key driver of US beverage alcohol consumption is flavor,” says Brandy Rand, IWSR’s COO of the Americas. “Flavored subcategories – from beer to vodka to US whiskey – are significantly outperforming traditional non-flavored subcategories. Flavor is also the top consumer driver of the fast-growing ready-to-drink (RTD) category, and that’s likely creating a halo effect on total alcohol as well.”

There were 11,282 wineries in the U.S. in 2021, of which 16% were categorized as mesclun psychedelic small (5,000-49,999 cases produced annually), 33% very small (1,000 to 4,999 cases), and 48% with “limited production” (less than 1,000 cases). Percent differences between and among groups (e.g., gender, education) were not as pronounced for spirits.