Beer remains the alcoholic beverage of choice among Americans who imbibe alcohol. While 43% of Americans who drink alcohol say they prefer beer, 32% say wine and 20% say liquor.
These results come from Gallup’s 2016 Consumption Habits survey, conducted July 13-17. The 43% of U.S. adult drinkers who say they drink beer most often is the highest since 2002, when 44% said the same. At several points since 2005, wine and beer essentially tied as the preferred alcoholic beverage, but in the last three years beer has held firmly as the top choice.
Americans’ drink of choice differs by gender, as it has since the 1990s. Half of female drinkers prefer wine, based on combined data from 2010 through 2016, while beer and liquor tie as their next-favored beverage (23%). Meanwhile, 54% of male drinkers name beer as their preferred drink, followed by liquor (22%) and wine (18%). These gender differences largely echo men’s and women’s alcoholic beverage preferences from the previous decade (2001-2009).
American Drinkers’ Alcoholic Beverage Choice, by GenderDo you most often drink liquor, wine or beer?
Men, 2001-2009 Men, 2010-2016 Women, 2001-2009 Women, 2010-2016 % % % % Liquor 19 22 25 23 Wine 20 18 47 50 Beer 57 54 24 23 GALLUP, JULY 13-17, 2016
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Via Gallup