The Year in Beer: Beer Drinking in America by Volume | Back to Blog

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  The Year in Beer: Beer Drinking in America by Volume

  contributed by rtcrooks October 9, 2008 at 5:03pm

  Beer. A sweet nectar from the gods themselves. A 8,000 year old process of refinement culminated into 12 oz of sublime libation. More than milk, coffee, or even bottle water, beer is the drink of choice for thirsty Americans of age. Yes, we Americans grease the wheels of human emotion with this social lubricant like no other. Some 200 million barrels a year go down our collective hatches. But instead of a string of numbers, lets visualize our way to grasping the United States' yearly beer consumption.

   

  

   

  Only China is has a greater thirst, but they also have an extra billion people's thirst to quench so with only one fourth of the population, we certainly hold our own.

   

  

   

  Of course the US beer industry is a juggernaught. Ranking around 35th on the global GDP list, our beer sales rival nations.

   

  

   

  War is expensive, and so is free beer. Although it's though unlikely to ever see a politician campaign with a "Make beer, not war" slogan, it is good to know that the economics are there to make it happen.

   

  

   

  While we are day dreaming about free beer, have you ever wanted a swimming pool full of the stuff? I sure hope not. The logistics of keeping a beer pool fresh and cold, not to mention making sure your drunk buddies don't pee in it, are mind boggling. But for 4% of the pool owners out there, this dream could be made a reality.

   

  

   

  With moon-landing levels of public support, cooperation and diligence, we could get this lasting testament to the wonders of Beer created, and filled too. OK, still day dreaming here, but if you just wanted to visualize 30 teragrams of liquid, here you go. What's a teragram? It's a scientific way of saying "that's fucking heavy!"

   

  

   

  Speaking of the moon, where would a visualization attempt be without some reference to the distance to the moon? If its too big for "around the earth x times"' then its "to the moon and back x times". Well this one was quite short of making it to our nearest neighbor, Mars, but this stack of cans tops out at a respectable 4.8 million miles of space. And just for you terrestrial types, that's around the earth 185 times. But really, what a waste of beer.

   

  

   

  Here we go, socialism I can support. Seriously though, here is our yearly consumption as it relates to you. You don't drink, well that's two beers a day for your neighbor. Your wife doesn't drink? Three beers a day for your neighbor. Grandma never touches the stuff? Well then you get the idea. You might want to check in on your neighbor though, he may have a problem.

   

  

   

  And finally, here is our yearly consumption and how it related those less fortunate. It's all about resources, though I doubt even the starving could choke down malted meals five nights a week. Yes the United States is wealthy and enjoys the good life, but just imagine the destruction and carnage that would occur with a nation full of sober and serious people. The hungry masses just might agree.

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  benwsf October 10, 2008 at 3:49pm

  The last graphic doesn't make sense, exactly ... "malt" in brewing terms usually refers to malted barley. Malt is not a thing in itself.
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  snooch October 10, 2008 at 6:24pm

  Too bad Coors, Millers and so on are "pisswater" and not beer. Almost an insult to compares that stuff with European beer brands. Dont know about Chinese beer though, never tried one.
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  billyrameriz October 10, 2008 at 6:38pm

  You dumb fuckers spelled Colombia wrong. Read a map before publishing, stupid assholes.
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  DragonDrop October 11, 2008 at 3:35am

  @Personages who got these slides together... Bravo! Fascinating. A brilliant presentation. @snooch agreed! Superbock (Portuguese) is the future of box ticking beverages. Tastes ace, stronger than stella and cheap as chips. @billyrameriz - that's a bit harh! Give the guy a break.
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  barleyhogg October 11, 2008 at 9:55pm

  The Czech Republic is right behind the US in consumption. They beat the Germans hands down. Also China beats the US, but the quality is very poor. The barley that makes up the majority of the grain for beer would not be the first choice for food. Corn, soybeans and rice are much more useful as food. The barley that is not used in the US for beer primarily goes for animal feed.
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  barslynan October 13, 2008 at 11:50pm

  I personally think this list is more interesting when it comes to beer consumption. This is a list of countries ordered by annual per capita consumption of beer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_beer_consumption_per_capita
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  TenAleTilt October 14, 2008 at 3:24am

  Read George Will on the subject of beer and whether it's really as "nonessential" as you imply in that last graphic. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/07/the_essential_beer.html
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