USA: Beer overcomes wine in Americans’ drinking preferences
In Gallup's 2006 survey of Americans' drinking habits, 41 percent of American drinkers surveyed said they drink beer most often, 33 percent said they drink wine most often, and 23 percent said they drink liquor most often, a wine insider released August 03.
The results are different from what Gallup measured in 2005, when wine - for the first time ever - edged out beer by 39 percent to 36 percent.
In 1992, 47 percent of drinkers said they most often drank beer, while 27 percent said wine and 21 percent said liquor.
Gallup representatives said the exact reasons for changes in preferred alcoholic beverages is unclear, and that 2005's increase in preference for wine may have represented a statistical anomaly or a real, but short-lived, phenomenon.
One possible factor is the low-carbohydrate diet craze, according to Gallup. To the extent that interest in low-carb diets declines, beer consumption may recover.
The poll showed the numbers of Americans who consume alcohol holding steady. Compared with a decade ago, though, U.S. drinkers are drinking more frequently and are consuming more. Yet drinkers are no more likely to report "drinking to excess" than they were in the past.
In the latest poll, 64 percent said they drink alcoholic beverages, a figure that has changed little over time. Gallup has tracked American drinking habits since 1939.
Drinking is apparently less common among lower-income households. According to the poll, 82 percent of Americans in households with annual incomes of $75,000 or more say they drink, compared with 63 percent in households earning $30,000 to $74,999 and 44 percent in households earning less than $30,000.
Results were based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,007 adults, age 18 and older.
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