Americans Prefer Beers With High Alcohol Content: PA Study

PITTSBURGH, PA — Americans are drinking more craft beer with higher alcohol content but are consuming fewer beers overall, according to an analysis led by the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health epidemiologists.

The study, published in the journal Substance Use & Misuse, is the first examination of trends not only in the volume of beer purchased but also beer specific alcohol content.

“With the rise in popularity of craft breweries and the acquisition of such breweries by large-scale industry and investment companies, we’ve seen steady growth in consumption of higher alcohol content beer,” Anthony Fabio, associate professor of epidemiology at Pitt Public Health and one of the study's lead authors, said in a Pitt news release.

“It is important that public health messaging include an emphasis on knowing the alcohol content of beer, not just the number of beers consumed, to ensure healthy alcohol
consumption.”

Researchers obtained data from the 2004-2014 Nielsen Consumer Panel, an annual purchasing survey of as many as 60,000 American households. They then matched the types of beers purchased with their alcohol content.

Beers with 4.5 percent or less alcohol were labeled "lower alcohol content"; beers between 4.5 and 5 percent alcohol were identified as "regular" and any beer with a greater alcohol amount was labeled "higher alcohol content."

Researchers found that in 2004, just 9.6 percent of household beer consumed was of higher alcohol content. By 2014, that number had jumped to 21.6 percent of households.the number

However, the number of 12-ounce beers each household purchased annually decreased from 169.4 in 2004 to 150.8 in 2014.

“We were pleasantly surprised to learn that—at least in terms of household beer consumption—Americans seem to be self-regulating," said Mary Schiff, a graduate student in the epidemiology department and one of the study's lead authors. "Households are buying higher alcohol content beer, but drinking less beer overall."

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