This confirms what we probably already knew. Beer is the preferred alcoholic beverage among Americans. According to The Beer Institute, beer sales totaled a whopping $98 billion dollars in 2011. Thats a 3% increase from on premise (bars, stadiums, etc.) to $55 billion, and a 1% increase in off premise purchases, to the tune of $43 billion. There are an estimated 547,000 beer-selling retail establishments currently operating in the United States.

“Beer continues to be the preferred alcohol beverage of Americans,” said Joe McClain, president of the Beer Institute. “With sales exceeding $98 billion, the beer industry continues to enjoy the largest shareof revenue and volume within the alcohol beverage sectorwhen compared to wine and spirits. While many of our core consumers are still impacted by a slow economic recovery, we are pleased to see a bump in last year’s retail sales, driven by high-end premium domestic and imported beers.”

The strongest consumer base are middle income buyers. The beer industry directly and indirectly supports approximately 1.8 million American jobs. [BI]

pic: kegs waiting to ship at Jailhouse Brewing (Hampton, GA)