Matthew Patane

mpatane@dmreg.com

Iowa can add another top rank to its ongoing list: Top 10 for beer drinking.

The state has the 10th-highest per-person consumption of beer in the U.S., according to a report by 24/7 Wall Street. The online business news operation used data from trade publication Beer Marketer's Insights to compile the report.

Individual Iowans consumed 33.2 gallons of beer in 2013, 24/7 said.

That's a close match to the state's own estimate of 33.56 gallons of beer consumed per person, according to the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division.

The state ranked just behind Nebraska, where people drank 34.2 gallons of beer each last year. North Dakota took the top spot, with individuals drinking 43.3 gallons of beer in 2013.

Iowa did not rank in 24/7's list a year ago. Even so, beer consumption in Iowa appears to be down.

Retailers sold about 73.1 million gallons of beer last year in Iowa, a drop of 4.5 million gallons compared with 2012, according to the Alcoholic Beverages Division.

Alcohol intake in Iowa increased 13 percent year-over-year, according to the 24/7 report. Iowa's high binge-drinking rate may have contributed to the increase, 24/7 Wall Street said.

In Iowa, 23 percent of adults said they binge drink, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC warns that the excessive amount of alcohol consumed from binge drinking can contribute to a variety of health problems.