U.S. beer market: leading domestic beer brands 2017, based on sales
Beer
Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage worldwide, and the third-most popular drink overall after water and tea. Research shows that people have been brewing beer as early as several thousand years before the Common Era. Recent studies claim that the production and consumption of beer was a major factor in the development of civilized society, arguing that the important and often spiritual role beer played in traditional ceremonies and feasts contributed to the development of ritual and tradition and consequently the development of society at large.
The American beer palette has undergone changes in recent years. More and more consumers are turning to craft beer over the name brands. Generally speaking, a craft beer comes from a small, independently owned brewery that uses traditional brewing methods and focuses on developing beer with a distinct taste and quality rather than on mass producing. A growing number of these breweries have appeared on the scene in the last few years. Their popularity may be influenced by the increasingly popular local food movement, which emphasizes consuming food and drink produced in or near one’s own community.
Domestic beer brands, like Bud Light or Coors Light, are still leaders of the American beer market. Studies show that most people still prefer a domestic beer at happy hour. While facing unexpected competition for beer aficionados from the independent brewers of America, the big brands stand to capitalize on casual drinkers looking for a tasty, simple, and affordable beer.