Whether you are killing a six-pack of discount beer every night or you prefer ending each day at a local watering hole quaffing craft on tap, you have brand preferences. Beer drinkers are cultishly loyal to those brews they deem worthy. They hold people who share their opinions in high esteem and disdain those who would dare to drink anything else. So, there is sure to be some grumbling and balking at the results of the most searched for breweries in each state.
The Business Broker Network laid the groundwork for making people question their state by using Google Trends to map the breweries locals are looking up. Then, they compiled a map detailing the most searched breweries. That doesn’t necessarily mean these beer brands are winning popularity contests, right?
It just means that people are curious about them and looking for information online.
Unsurprisingly, most of the country was Googling craft breweries. However, the fine folks of Missouri were not having it, and they stand proudly as the only member of the union looking for info online about macrobrewery Busch. That’s a choice, MO.
When it comes to the number of states that include it as the number one search term, ale is the style frontrunner, with IPA and pale ale nipping at heels, close behind. When it comes to dark beers, things aren’t looking so good. Only residents of North Dakota searched most for porter, and Wisconsin citizens did the same for stout. And though that kind of seems like the sort of skew that would happen if you looked only at spring and summer data, they actually used a full year’s worth of information.
As interesting as it it to see what popular search terms are, its also cool to see what wasn’t searched for at all. Like kölsch is pretty common (it’s the top search in two states), but folks in Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, Montana, and North Dakota weren’t looking it up at all. It’s not like people in those states aren’t drinking it; many local breweries in these states make amazing kölsch. So, why aren’t they looking it up?
Study the maps and consider how aligned with the people of your home state you really are. Are the masses picking wisely when they hit the internet to do some beer research, or do you need to get drunk on superior beer and fight them all … in the comments!
