Massachusetts Is Hardly the Beer Drinking Capital of America

Growing up in Massachusetts, I believed it to be the beer-drinking capital of the world, or at least the U.S.A. Man, was I mistaken. It's not even close.

Television and radio reminded me constantly that "Shaefer is the one beer to have when you're having more than one!" Or that "When you say Bud, you say you care enough to only want the king of beers!" And didn't everyone say, "Hey neighbor! Have a Gansett?"

As Miller High Life promised, "If you've got the time, we've got the beer."

I mean, Massachusetts is the land of real and hardy beer drinkers, right? Norm Peterson drank here!

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When I was a kid at New Bedford High School, the cool kids (present company excluded) somehow got their hands on kegs and hauled them into the woods or the dunes at Horseneck for beer parties.

Of course, "Mad Dog" 20/20, Tango, Boone's Farm, and blackberry brandy were unfortunately never in short supply in those days.

So let's separate fantasy from reality.

BeerInfo.com reported, "Overall, U.S. beer consumption per adult age 21 and over is around 28.2 gallons per person, per year."

"Breaking these numbers down further, the average adult over the age of 21 is consuming about 10 ounces of beer per day, or roughly one six-pack per week," the site said.

Massachusetts drinkers are not doing their bit, though. They aren't keeping pace with beer drinkers in most other states, and Rhode Islanders are even worse.

BeerInfo.com said that Massachusetts beer drinkers consume only 18 gallons of beer per year. That's 44th place overall. Rhode Islanders rank 45th with slightly fewer beers consumed than their counterparts in Massachusetts.

New Hampshire beer drinkers top the charts, consuming 43 gallons each per year. Vermont comes in seventh, Maine 11th and Connecticut 46th.

The state that consumes the least amount of beer is Utah, with about 12 gallons per person per year.

While the Boston Red Sox have named Sam Adams "The Official Beer of the Boston Red Sox," Massachusetts has no official beer.

Check out BeerInfo.com's list of beer consumption by state per capita.