Beer survey found the “perception that people are drinking more” since the pandemic is “false” and there’s a real “disconnect” between their “own actions and what they think others have done.”
The poll was conducted via online interviews of those 21 and older between March 1-4 by Echelon Insights on behalf of their Beer Institute.
Overall, people’s beer drinking pattern hasn’t really changed since COVID-19 hit the world, CraftBrewingBusiness.com reported in a piece published Thursday. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
“Many people think that over the course of the pandemic, people have been sitting at home drinking more beer than ever before, and that’s simply not the case,” Jim McGreevy, President and CEO of the Beer Institute shared. “Although many news reports erroneously stated that beer consumption has increased during quarantine, the perception that people are drinking more is false.” (RELATED: Virginia Brewery Offers $20K A Year For Gig Hiking And Drinking Beer)
“The survey results match the dramatic decline we’ve seen in retail beer sales, especially since many gathering places where draft beer is served, such as stadiums, concert venues, bars, and restaurants, had to close or were limited in their operational capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” McGreevy continued.
We did a poll about beer! Many people assume alcohol consumption went up during the pandemic but the story is more complicated, and the loss of “on-premise” beer sales (stadiums, bars) show in the sales data.
More here -> https://t.co/ucCjZfJvgO
— Kristen Soltis Anderson (@KSoltisAnderson) June 17, 2021
And it wasn’t just beer, the survey found overall alcohol consumption across the board, be it beer, wine, liquor or hard spirits didn’t change, with 60 percent of respondents saying there was no change in their drinking habits since the pandemic. (RELATED: Heineken To Cut 8,000 Jobs Due To Pandemic, Taking Steps To ‘Move Beyond Beer’)
“Even though many Americans may think the pandemic caused an uptick in alcohol consumption, when asked about their own behavior, they don’t think their own habits have changed much, either in terms of the quantity or the frequency with which they choose to drink,” Kristin Soltis Anderson, president and co-founder of Echelon Insights shared. “The disconnect between people’s own actions and what they think others have done during the pandemic is striking.”
