Legal drinkers in the D.C. area drank slightly more beer in 2012 than they did in 2011, and beer shipments…

Legal drinkers in the D.C. area drank slightly more beer in 2012 than they did in 2011, and beer shipments in the region grew during that period, according to new figures from the D.C.-based Beer Institute.

D.C. residents 21 and over consumed an average of 28.3 gallons of beer last year, the numbers show. That’s nothing compared with the beer drinkers in North Dakota, No. 1 in consumption, with 45.8 gallons per capital among those of legal age.

Marylanders and Virginians downed less beer than their neighbors in D.C. drank in 2012. Maryland averaged 23.2 gallons per capita, and Virginia averaged 26.7 gallons.

Beer shipments into the region also went up slightly.

D.C. received 445,508 31-gallon barrels of beer last year, compared with 429,298 in 2011. Maryland received shipments totaling 3,216,919 barrels, compared with 3,165,375 in 2011.Virginia took in 5,144,231 barrels, compared with 5,098,090, respectively in 2011.

The Beer Institute, the national beer industry’s main lobbying organization, expected beer sales to top $1 billion in the U.S. for July Fourth, which is typically America’s largest beer-drinking holiday.