GreatBeerNow.com

Beer consumption in the United States is down slightly in the past year, but craft beer continues to gain popularity and continues to take away market share from the big breweries.  The number of breweries in the United States also continues to climb, and craft brewing operations are at the forefront of this increase.

States with a large number of craft brewing operations per capita tend to have the largest consumption of beer per capita, which isn’t surprising. So how does your state measure up? According to the Beer Institute, the consumption of beer per state in 2010 is as follows:

                        Rank:             State                              Gallons per Capita

Overall beer consumption per capita in the United States took a small dip in 2010, down to 28.9 gallons per person. In 2009, the level was 29.5 gallons per person and in 2008, it was at 30.5 gallons per person.

New Hampshire continues to lead as the state with the greatest beer consumption per capita. Residents of the Granite State quaffed down a total of 44.2 gallons of beer per person in 2010, a level that is more than double that of the last- place state, Utah. New Hampshire ranked first in 2009 as well and has consistently placed in the top five for more than a decade.

Probably the greatest surprise on the list is California. Based on beer produced in the state, California actually ranks number one in the land. But apparently, the beer is mostly intended for export to other states as California ranks only 45^th in overall consumption with a mere 26.2 gallons per person.

Beer consumption has been flat or declining overall for the past few years. This downward trend, however, isn’t expected to last. Beer consumption is expected to pick up once again and move back over the 30 gallon per capita level as soon as the economy improves.