This Is Your State's Favorite Beer

Have you ever wondered what America's favorite beer might be? As it turns out, that's a surprisingly tricky question to answer. Judging by beer ads alone, you'd probably expect it to be one of the major macros like Miller, Coors, or Bud, but a poll by YouGov says that the top 5 at present are, in order of popularity: Sam Adams, Corona, Guinness, Heineken, and Blue Moon. A study by Top Agency, however, breaks down beer preferences on a state-by-state basis, and the data they've collected tells an entirely different story.

We can't speak to the methodology of Top Agency's survey, but the results are all over the map (literally). For some states, they list a specific beer (Bud Light, Dos Equis, Spotted Cow), while for others they simply name a brewery (Dogfish Head, Goose Island). Still, the real story here appears to be which states went with big-name brews and which ones preferred imports, as well as the surprising number that showed some love for their local brews. We would, however, like to call out one particularly egregious error — the survey somehow manages to omit Hawaii, Alaska, and the District of Columbia! Sorry, you three. While we won't guess at your fave beers, we're going to assume those picks are pretty amazing as we'd expect no less from two awesome states and our nation's coolest capital.

Abita is a craft brewery that's been doing business in Louisiana for over 35 years, so it's no real shocker to find out that they're the top pick of that state. What we do not know, however, is which of Abita's beers is the favorite, as there is no single beer called simply "Abita." Our best guess at the leading candidate for the Bayou state's top brew would be Abita Amber, a lager that the brewery says was one of its earliest beers and is one of its best-sellers, to boot. 

Abita Amber is hardly the brewery's only flagship beer, though. They also offer Jockamo I.P.A., which takes its name from the chant of the Mardi Gras "Indians;" Turbodog, a brown ale; Restoration Pale Ale, a brew whose proceeds benefit the state's hurricane relief efforts; Wrought Iron I.P.A., named after New Orleans' signature architectural frill; Golden, which is a light-colored lager; Light, which has just 118 calories per bottle; and Purple Haze, a lager flavored with raspberries. As Top Agency did not specify any single Abita brew, we're giving every single one of them a shout-out here. As Abita is distributed nationwide, you won't even need to visit Louisiana to try them for yourself

While Budweiser may come 2nd on our list, that's only because we're going in alphabetical order. It may not be America's favorite beer (it comes in at #6 on the YouGov list), but try telling that to residents of the 23 different states in which it's the top seller. In which states does the King of Beers reign supreme? For starters, it tops the list in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Iowa, and Kentucky. It also comes in number one in Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Montana, thereby winning all but 1 of the "M" states. 

Pausing for breath — and a paragraph break — halfway through the alphabet, we move on to New Hampshire and New York, so that's 50% of the "New" states for Team Budweiser. They've also got Oklahoma, Oregon, and both of the "Souths," Carolina and Dakota. To round out the list of red-and-white (can) states, we have Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and 100% of the "West" states, the sole one being West Virginia. Too bad Budweiser failed to capture the hearts and palates of either "North," though, as this cost the Genuine Article an undisputed monopoly on all of the directional states. For everyone in the 23 states named above, though, this Bud's for you, and you, and you, too.

Following right behind Budweiser, not only on our list but also in number of states where it's the favorite, is its little brother, Bud Light. While some might call this beer a watered-down version of the original, Bud Light is the most popular pick in 5 states: Connecticut, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington (state, not D.C.). 

As to why these states might favor Bud Light over Bud Heavy, it may have to do with a shift toward consuming less alcohol, particularly by younger drinkers, so lower-ABV options may be gaining traction in some quarters. It may also be due to the fact that Bud Light is not only less boozy, but has fewer carbs and calories. Also, slightly less protein, but who drinks beer for the protein, anyway? If you want some actual numbers here, Healthline says Bud Light has 4.2 ABV, 110 calories, 6.6 grams carbohydrate, and .9 grams protein as compared to 5.0 ABV, 145 calories, 10.6 grams carbohydrate, and a whopping 1.3 grams protein for Budweiser. As for how the taste stacks up, the Los Angeles Times rates Bud Light as one of the best-tasting and most-chuggable of American macrobrews. while Bud Heavy has a so-so flavor and lacks chuggability. That being said, the L.A. Times is nonetheless in a Bud "Heavy" state, no matter how much they might like to switch teams.

While Coors may once have touted the fact that its beers were "Brewed with Pure Rocky Mountain Spring Water" (which is actually not the case, at least not with Coors Light), none of the Rocky Mountain states chose a Coors product as their favorite. Instead, the Silver Bullet scored big in Kansas and Nevada. Geographically-speaking, though, these two states could at least be said to be Rocky Mountain adjacent, as Kansas lies just east of Colorado (home of Coors Brewing) while Nevada shares its border with both Utah and Idaho. 

One interesting thing about the Top Agency beer rankings is that they don't just include the number one beer in each state, but instead provide a list of the top 5. While we don't have room to go into all of those results in each slide, since we're going on about the Rocky Mountain region here we did delve a little deeper into those states' relationship with Coors Light. This beer did come in at number 5 in its native state of Colorado, also making the list at #2 in Montana (where it nudged out the #3 beer, Big Sky Moose). In Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, however, Coors Light failed to make the cut. The Los Angeles Times would not be too surprised to hear this, as they claim that the alleged mountain spring water that goes into this beer tastes more like it came out of a hose nozzle.

Fargo is more than just a movie, it's also the largest city in North Dakota, even if its 128,000 residents are just slightly more people than you might find sharing an apartment in some of Brooklyn's pricier neighborhoods. Still, Fargo's not so tiny that it doesn't also have it's own namesake microbrewery that produces the state's favorite beer. 

Once again, Top Agency proved to be slightly less informative than we'd have liked, as they simply gave the word "Fargo" as Nebraska's top pick, omitting even the words "Brewing Company." The FBC only has 4 beers available on a regular basis, however, and one beer is clearly designated as the original, so we'd hazard a guess that Nebraska's choice for best beer is Fargo Original Lager. Nebraskans who prefer something a bit heavier, however, can always go for Fargo's Stone's Throw Scottish Ale, while bitter beer fans have a choice of two brews: Iron Horse Pale Ale and Wood Chipper IPA. The latter, of course, is named after everyone's favorite method of cinematic corpse dismemberment.

Delaware may be a fairly small state, but it does have a few claims to fame: it was the state that cast the swing vote that made the not-yet-United States agree to secede from Great Britain, it's the home state of President Joe Biden, and it's home to Dogfish Head, a brewery that sells its beer in all 50 states. (Plus Washington D.C., so nice of them not to forget about their near neighbor to the south.) While Top Agency says Dogfish Head is the favorite beer of Delaware, once again, we don't know which of the brewery's products earned this honor.

Dogfish Head has a bunch of different IPAs, ranging from the ridiculously high ABV 120 Minute (15 to 20%) to the low-cal, low-ABV Slightly Mighty (4%) and the unfiltered Where the Wild Hops Are (6.5%). They also offer several pilsners and a Belgian-style white ale as well as flavored beers such as the smore's-flavored stout Camp Amp, peachy Berliner Weisse Festina Pêche, salt and lime-flavored SeaQuench Ale, and the self-explanatory Punkin Ale and Mandarin & Mango Crush. They even have a non-alcoholic wheat beer called Lemon Quest. While none of these beers is designated as Dogfish Head's flagship, if we were to assign Delaware an official state brew, we'd be inclined to go with Blue Hen Pilsner. Not only is pilsner a popular pick, but this beer takes its name from the state bird and the can colors echo those of its flag.

The state of Arizona doesn't always drink beer, but when they do, they prefer Dos Equis. So does that, by default, make them The Most Interesting State in the World? Well, maybe so, maybe no, but it does go a long way towards making up for their surprisingly boring favorite cocktail pick (Jack and Coke, yawn). Arizona was only one of three states to go with an imported beer, although we'd like to point out that they do share a border with Mexico. 

So what makes Dos Equis such a hit in the Grand Canyon State, aside from the Most Interesting Ad Campaign in the World? We can't say for sure, but the light, refreshing  Lager Especial has been a Mexican restaurant staple for nearly 40 years and according to a survey (yet another one!) by Chef's Pencil, Arizona is the state that shows the most love for la comida mexicana. Buen provecho, Arizona, and stay thirsty, my friends!

Fargo is more than just a movie, it's also the largest city in North Dakota, even if its 128,000 residents  are just slightly more people than you might find sharing an apartment in some of Brooklyn's pricier neighborhoods. Still, Fargo's not so tiny that it doesn't also have it's own namesake microbrewery that produces the state's favorite beer.

Once again, Top Agency proved to be slightly less informative than we'd have liked, as they simply gave the word "Fargo" as Nebraska's top pick, omitting even the words "Brewing Company." The FBC only has 4 beers available on a regular basis, however, and one beer is clearly designated as the original, so we'd hazard a guess that Nebraska's choice for best beer is Fargo Original Lager. Nebraskans who prefer something a bit heavier, however, can always go for Fargo's Stone's Throw Scottish Ale, while bitter beer fans have a choice of two brews: Iron Horse Pale Ale and Wood Chipper IPA. The latter, of course, is named after everyone's favorite method of cinematic corpse dismemberment.

While Goose Island isn't exactly a macrobrewery, they're not all that micro, either, what with their brewpubs in London, Seoul, Shanghai, and other international locales. In fact, Goose Island's U.K. outpost even partnered with Cadbury to create a beer celebrating the 50th anniversary of the latter's Creme Egg. Still, Goose Island remains true to its Chicago roots (despite being bought by Anheuser-Busch over a decade ago), and the people of Illinois seem to love them for it. 

It may come as no surprise, this far into the list, to find that we don't have a clue as to which of Goose Island's beers is Illinois' favorite, as the brewery has a total of 7 year-round offerings. There's an IPA cleverly named IPA, as well as a hazy one called Lost Palate. They've also got two Belgian-style brews, pale ale Matilda and saison Sofie. We imagine, though, that Illinoisans (at least those in the state's largest metropolis) may be partial to the three beers with Chicago-themed names: the American pale ale called Green Line, the "urban wheat ale" known as 312 (Chicago's area code), and the 312 Lemonade Shandy that bills itself as "The Chicago Original."

As we mentioned, there were only three states that had an import beer as their favorite brew, with the first being Arizona's love for Dos Equis. You've probably been on the edge of your seat since then, wondering about those other two. Well, we're finally ready to reveal the second one: it's Ohio, and they're awfully fond of Heineken! Good choice, Ohio. This Dutch brewery has been in business for almost 150 years, so they must be doing something right. 

Unlike so many other breweries on this list, Heineken does have a very identifiable flagship product, a lager beer that comes in a distinctive green bottle with a red star on the label. Or a can, they've got those, too. Over the years, they've only stepped a tiny bit off their original path, as they now offer both light and non-alcoholic versions of that same lager, but they've yet to hop on the IPA bandwagon, much less branch out into hard seltzers. We kind of love them for it, too. After all, if the OG Heineken is good enough for James Bond — and the entire state of Ohio — then it's good enough for us, too.

La Cumbre is an Albuquerque microbrewery that you may not be familiar with if you're located anywhere outside the Four Corners area — far enough outside, perhaps, that you don't even know that this term refers to the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. These four states, all of which touch at one point (hence the Four Corners name), also seem to be the only ones where you can find La Cumbre's beer. (La Cumbre's distribution map does show a single Elks Club outside of San Antonio, Texas that sells the stuff, but confusingly enough, it lists a New Mexico address for the place.) Well, that's okay, La Cumbre doesn't need to conquer the world, or even the U.S., as they're the best-beloved beer of their home state New Mexico. 

And yes, there's no single "La Cumbre" beer that stands out as the state's favorite, at least not as far as we're aware. It's most likely one of their year-round offerings, though, so it's probably an IPA (either the high-ABV Elevated or the less boozy, less bitter Acclimated), a stout (Malpais), a hefe (Slice of Hefen), an uber-hoppy experimental beer (Project Dank), or a light-bodied lager (the beer that's simply known as Beer).

While Budweiser is the number one brew in all but one "M" state (and there sure are a whole lot of "M" states!), one rogue state is bold enough to break from the pack: this Bud's not for you, Mississippi! Instead, the renegade Magnolia Staters prefer a local brewery, that being Lazy Magnolia in the bustling metropolis of Kiln, Mississippi. Fun fact about Lazy Magnolia (that might just say a few things about Mississippi, as well): the brewery opened in 2005, but at a mere 17 years of age as of 2022 they can still claim to be the state's longest-operating packaging brewery. 

And, you guessed it, no real flagship beer here, either. Instead, Lazy Magnolia offers two different beer series. The lower-ABV Welcome to the Porch line includes a golden ale, a grapefruit radler, and beers flavored with pecan and cherry, while the higher-ABV Back Porch beers include two IPAs and a gose. They also offer a barrel-aged specialty series with a saison called Devil in the Front Pew, a stout known as Stella Obscura, and a brown ale they've dubbed Southern Gentleman. Southern-centric though the names may be, Lazy Magnolia's distribution extends outside the region to include 19 states as far-flung as New York and Colorado. They're only available in one other "M" state, though, that being Missouri. Good luck trying to wean them off the Bud bandwagon when that's St. Louis' hometown brew!

When you think of Texas beers, which one comes first to mind? If you answered Shiner, you may be surprised to find out that this iconic brewery doesn't even make the list of Texas' top 5. Their numero uno, however, is another local brew, and one that bears a name reminiscent of the state's flag: Lone Star. 

Lone Star is a brewery that pretty much sticks to its roots, so we have very little doubt that the state's favorite beer is Lone Star Original, a light lager that the brewers have dubbed "The National Beer of Texas." They only offer two other beers, after all. One of these is Lone Star Texas Light, which is meant to be similar in flavor to the original, but has a lower calorie count and a bit less alcohol. The other is an easy-drinking lager brewed in the Mexican style that goes by the name of Rio Jade.

Miller Lite may not be the beer that made Milwaukee famous (that honor goes to Schlitz), but it could be the best-known brew to come out of Brew City in the past half-century as it claims the distinction of being the first-ever light beer. While Miller Lite — or any Miller product — fails to crack the top 5 in their native Wisconsin (some beers, like prophets, have no honor in their own country), it's the top choice of both Indiana and New Jersey. 

Despite its so-so showing on the top of the charts, Miller Lite is nonetheless a strong safety pick for quite a few states, as 17 of them had this beer as one of their 5 favorites. It comes in at the number two spot in Kentucky and Pennsylvania, takes third place in Tennessee, is the fourth-place finisher in Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, and South Carolina, and comes in fifth in Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming.

While Narragansett Beer may no longer be one of the big names in brewing, they have quite a long and storied history. Their Providence brewery, built in 1890, was New England's largest before that decade was done. Narragansett did take a hit during Prohibition, of course, as did every other brewer whose history dates back that far. They bounced right back after it was repealed, however, and in 1944 became the first booze brand to sponsor a sports team (the Red Sox, of course). Four decades later things were looking pretty dire, though — in the 1980s, Narragansett first moved out of its home state, then shut down entirely. By the early 2000s, though, it was up and running again. It's also back in Rhode Island, where it holds the distinction of being the smallest state's biggest beer brand in terms of popularity. 

The Narragansett brewery does offer several different varieties including a light lager, an IPA, and two shandies (lemon and a mango/passionfruit), but we're going to make an educated guess that Little Rhody's favorite beer is the classic Narragansett Lager. This, after all, is the very same beer that Captain Quint crunched up a can of in "Jaws," and who wouldn't want to #CrushItLikeQuint?

While many states lean toward a fairly light lager-style beer, not Nebraska! Nebraskans, it seems, are partial to a hearty home-grown brew, one made by the Nebraska Brewing Company in suburban Omaha. While NBC offers a variety of beers, including a core series that features a pilsner, a lager, a nut brown ale, a hefeweizen, and an IPA, none of these is Nebraska's top pick. Instead, the state has specified its preference for the barrel-aged reserve series stout known as Black Betty. 

Black Betty, as it turns out, is a pretty hardcore pick! It's a Russian imperial stout with an ABV of 10.6. Nebraska Brewing Company doesn't even offer any food pairing suggestions for this beer, perhaps because it's practically a meal all by itself. As to why the Cornhusker state loves Black Betty so much, one Nebraskan on Beer Advocate describes it as "incredibly smooth for such a high alcohol beer ... a really smooth, well executed world-class beer."

Wyoming's favorite beer is one that's brewed in Wyoming for Wyomingites, and maybe for a few Idahoans, Montanans, and Utahans, as well. If you're not in one of those states, though, you're out of luck as Snake River Brewing's beers are not sold outside of that 4-state region. They probably taste best straight from the tap anyway, even if the Jackson Brewpub is only open seasonally. 

Once again, we don't know which Snake River brew floats the Cowboy State's boat — if cowboys (and girls) even have boats, that is. Snake River offers a full range of beers to choose from, including several IPAs, a few stouts, a barleywine, a sour saison, and lagers both light and dark. While not all of their beers are available in cans, a fair selection of them are. The coolest thing about the cans is the fact that each one features some pretty sweet artwork from local illustrators. Some of the outdoorsy motifs used include an elk on the Monarch pilsner can, a swan on the pale ale, and a very cute Siberian husky on the IPA.

While Milwaukee may call itself Brew City, Wisconsin's favorite brew does not come from its largest metropolis. Instead, the state's top pick is brewed in the not-so-bustling metropolis of New Glarus (population: several) in a brewery that bears that town's name. New Glarus beers are found all over the state — they pretty much sell the stuff everywhere but school cafeterias — but they do not export them outside Wisconsin's borders (which is not to say that people aren't regularly road-tripping from Chicago or Duluth to stock up on the stuff).

New Glarus offers an ever-evolving range of beers, but the state's favorite by far is the farmhouse ale known as Spotted Cow. Of all the beers they sell (almost a quarter of a million barrels a year, whatever that translates to in terms of cans or bottles), at least a quarter of them are of the speckled bovine variety. Needless to say, this beer pairs very well with all things cheesy, as long as the cheese itself is also made in Wisconsin.

Finally we come to our third import beer on the list, which is favored by the state of Florida. It seems that the Sunshine State is super-into Stella! Stella Artois, to give it its full name, is a Belgian brewery that's been in business since the 14th century, although the Stellas you see in the U.S. these days are likely brewed in St. Louis. So, okay, this makes Stella technically not an import, but neither does it fit the profile of a domestic macrobrew, so we'll just call it import-ish. 

There are actually several different Stella products: citrus-flavored Solstice Lager, dark Midnight Lager with its hints of coffee and chocolate, and even Stella Cidre, which is, as its name implies, a type of hard cider. Still, when you simply order a Stella, chances are you'll be served their flagship lager that comes in the green bottle. (What is it with Euro beers and green bottles?) For this reason, we feel fairly safe in speculating that this lager takes top honors as Florida's favorite beer.

Georgia is yet another southern state to favor a local brew — in this case, it's Athens' own Terrapin Beer Co., a brewery that has now expanded to include an Atlanta location, as well. Terrapin's brews are also distributed in 19 states, the District of Columbia, and even Puerto Rico. 

Terrapin, however, has no signature brew, so we still have no idea what Georgia's actually drinking. They've got a number of options, though. Among Terrapin's year-round offerings are a Mexican-style lager as well as 6 different IPAs that include an imperial style, a citra-hopped, a hazy, a Hawaiian-style, and even a light IPA. They also have seasonal offerings such as stouts flavored with coffee, chocolate, maple praline, peanut butter, and chai latte, a couple of goses (both watermelon), and yes, even more IPAs including fruity ones like peach and blood orange. We're going to go out on a limb here and hazard a guess that Georgia is particularly partial to one (or all) of Terrapin's India Pale Ales.