What's The Most Popular Beer In America?

America loves beer. There's no doubt that an icy cold one is the drink of choice at sporting events, backyard barbecues, a party, or as an easy-to-sip-on beverage when going out. The United States is the proud birthplace of the craft beer movement, as well as the home of some of the biggest beer names in the world. Surprisingly, America's favorite beer is not a domestic one.

Guinness, which is of course famously based in Ireland, takes first place for being the most popular beer in the United States. Guinness Draught, a 4.5% Irish stout, tends to be the easiest beer to find in bars and the company's top beer choice in America. Whether enjoyed freshly poured from the tap or served in a black and tan cocktail, this beers wins the popularity contest. This result is based on a popularity rating survey conducted by YouGov, which aims to quantify how America thinks through a frequently updated database of over 24 million responses. The top choices indicate what percentage of people participating in the survey had a positive experience with the beer.

The second most popular beer in America is also an import: Modelo. Brewed by Grupo Modelo in Mexico, Modelo fell just a few points behind Guinness. Modelo Especial, a 4.4% pilsner-style beer, is the favorite beer of the company in America. Another Mexican beer brand, Corona, took third place. Interestingly, these ratings change with certain demographics; Baby Boomers voted Heineken into first place, while women felt most positively towards Corona.

When we look at more concrete and comprehensive data of annual sales, the rankings change. The YouGov ranking is interesting to see because it reflects not just how much consumers enjoy drinking a particular beer, but also their brand perception and loyalty. On the other hand, sales of beer are influenced by the accessibility of products, as well as the price point. Neither metric is necessarily more correct, but both carry weight for different reasons.

In terms of sales, Modelo continues to dominate at the top — the Mexican brewing company takes first place for the most off-premise sales this year. Off-premise sales are any sale that occurs outside of a bar or restaurant, typically purchased from a liquor or grocery store to be consumed at home. Modelo has been steadily increasing in sales year over year, and finally, in 2023, it overtook Bud Light for first place. In 2024, the company's total sales currently sit at $4.1 billion compared to Bud Light's $3.4 billion.

Another significant milestone occurred this year — 2024 was the first year that imported beers overtook domestic premium beers in sales volume. In fact, Mexican beer brands make up the majority of the total import beer market in the United States. Modelo represents a significant portion of these sales, but it also includes other Mexican brands like Corona, Pacifico, Dos XX, and Victoria.