Whether it’s a cocktail at happy hour, beer at a football game or a glass of wine after work, most Americans are fond of boozy beverages. A recent poll from Gallup showed 60 percent of American adults have partaken in drinking.
Despite this, the study reveals that more Americans are abstaining from drinking alcohol. The poll was conducted in July 2021, based on interviews with 1,007 U.S. adults across the country.
Sixty percent is down nearly five percent from 2019. It’s down even more compared to 2010, when 67 percent of U.S. adults replied “yes” to the survey.
There seemed to be a shift in drinking habits from 2019 until now. The average number of drinks per week (3.6) dropped to its lowest since 2001. Additionally, men (63 percent) reported drinking at a higher rate than women (57 percent).
Beer is on the rise in popularity, however, steadily trending upwards to 39 percent in 2021, compared to 38 percent in 2019.
Wine follows suit with 31 percent (up one percent from 2019), while liquor consumption decreased from 29 percent to 27 percent. This may be an indication of generational shifts in America, as 18- to 34-year-olds indicate beer as their preferred beverage. (Beer has been the most popular alcoholic beverage for the entirety of Gallup’s reports, leading the way since the survey began in 1939.)
2020 marked the first in nearly 60 years that Gallup did not collect data on Americans’ alcohol consumption. The study cited the pandemic as the reason for this, stating that 2020 results would be skewed. In a year in which lockdowns forced us all to become home-bartenders and liquor stores were deemed essential, a shift in our habits is certainly plausible.
