America's brew binge is over.
Beer sales reportedly slipped last year in the wake of a boycott of Bud Light over its campaign with a transgender influencer — and changing drinking habits.
Sales were down 5% in the United States for the first nine months of last year — and on track for the lowest annual level since 1999, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing the industry group Beer Marketer's Insights.
In the four weeks ending Dec. 9, 2023, Bud Light's retail-store sales were down 28% compared with the same period in 2022, according to NielsenIQ data analyzed by consulting firm Bump Williams, the Journal reported.
What that means is shipments were on track to fall below 200 million barrels — about 9 million fewer than in 2021. That's about 2 billion fewer beers drunk by Americans, the Daily Mail reported.
A Bud Light boycott is thought to have triggered the slide after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney was featured in an ad, and beer drinkers switching to other brands haven't closed the gap.
The brand's brewer, Anheuser-Busch, has been trying to mount a comeback with marketing that features current and former National Football League stars as Bud Light's independent distributers try to mix up their offerings, the Journal reported.
"We're all scrambling," one distributor told the outlet.
Mexican import Modelo Especial overtook Bud Light as the top-selling U.S. beer by dollar sales in retail stores last year, although Bud Light remains the top beer by volume.
In 2021, the U.S. beer industry shipped 208.6 million barrels, according to data from the National Beer Wholesalers Association.
Mounting health and wellness concerns have also helped fuel the spike in nonalcoholic beers, with younger drinkers more likely to opt for a zero-percent beverage, researchers say, the Daily Mail noted.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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