E-Malt.com News article: USA, NH: New Hampshire ranked as the state with the highest beer consumption

According to the 2011 statistic, New Hampshire has taken the crown for the most beer consumed by of-age individuals out of any state in the country, The Telegraph reported on December, 7.

With the national average falling around 28.3 gallons of beer consumed annually per American, New Hampshire tops out at 43 gallons.

The study, conducted by the Beer Institute, calculates the amount of beer “consumed” by dividing the amount of beer sold by the number of eligible drinkers in the state. For New Hampshire, this would be 1,354,674 31-gallon barrels divided by 977,744 eligible drinkers. But this does not take into account the beer purchased in one state and transported to another.

King, a Massachusetts native, agrees this could be a strong determining factor in the study’s results, claiming that driving to New Hampshire to buy alcohol is commonplace for Massachusetts residents. The difference in price between New Hampshire and its neighbors is not a negligible amount, with Massachusetts charging a 5 percent sales tax and Vermont charging 6 percent compared to New Hampshire’s tax-free sales.

“My own parents do it because it saves them money. My dad will come to buy beer in New Hampshire at least once every two weeks and he does it to save the money. Anything to save a couple bucks these days seems to be what matters most. If I have to drive ten more miles to save a few dollars, I’m going to do it,” King said.

Greg Ouelette, the head brewer at Martha’s Exchange Restaurant & Brewery in Nashua, also agrees that the study is based upon facts that don’t take into account extenuating circumstances like the relationship between New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

“The sales data method is the way to get the most data, but not necessarily good data. I don’t know if there is necessarily a better way, but you could take a sample of people and poll them as to how much they drink and hopefully they would be truthful with you,” said Ouelette.

Ouelette also believes, from personal experience, that people are drinking less, taking more into account the quality of the beverage.

“I think in the beers that I brew, people are drinking less, but they’re drinking better. They’re enjoying the products better.”

Chris Fokas, co-owner of Martha’s Exchange, said he does not disagree with Ouelette’s analysis of the study, but does note that his restaurant may be less affected by interlopers from other states, solely because Martha’s specializes in on-site sales of beer rather than sales of product that can be brought across state lines.

“We think (the study) could be a little skewed due to the outside sales coming from people coming from Massachusetts into New Hampshire. It’s one thing to sell alcohol in restaurants and another to sell in package stores or grocery stores. I hate to say it, but I probably would attribute it to them,” said Fokas.


07 December, 2012