• Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Here is the key sentence in the article.

    …an acceleration in the long-term decline of so-called domestic-premium brands, which include Bud Light and rivals Miller Light and Coors Light…

    So, are people drinking less beer or are they drinking less piss beer? Could it be that people are having two Hazy Imperial IPA’s with 8+ ABV instead of a six pack of Coors Light? I am taking this headline with a grain of salt.

    EDIT: I found my glasses.

  • The Pantser@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’m sure the weed legalizing has had an impact as well. I have completely stopped drinking in favor of weed. Saves my liver and no hangover.

  • CADmonkey@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    It might have something to do with weed being easier to get. Where I live it’s easier and faster to get weed than it is to get beer, especially on sunday.

    • Mike@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Alcohol is expensive and makes you feel like shit. Who does that to themselves by choice when there’s alternatives?

      • hansl@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It only makes you feel like shit if you want to get wasted irresponsibly. I like beer and outside of some college benders I’ve never felt like shit after. Stay hydrated folks.

        • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          After you’ve acquired the taste. It was social pressure that got me to acquire it, but if that social pressure is dropping, it doesn’t surprise me that fewer pick it up because beer tastes kinda awful at first.

            • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              I don’t really care about the social pressure anymore but I do like a beer on occasion. Though it is more about the overall experience of drinking a beer rather than the taste itself, which I’d personally say is at best not bad and generally tolerable.

      • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        I enjoy the buzz from alcohol and I rarely drink enough to make me feel like shit. While I’m generally a social person, I also enjoy that it is a social lubricant, while I find other highs to not be nearly as social, and often even anti social.

    • BobGnarley@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      This is part of why alcohol companies spend insane amounts of cash towards anti legalization efforts

      • CADmonkey@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The DEA, or Distiller’s Enforcement Apparatus, is an army of masked thugs licensed to rob, defame, kidnap, or kill those suspected of preferring other drugs over alcohol.

  • flames5123@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    beer shipments

    That’s the problem. A lot of people are living in and around cities now. We buy beer at the brewery. Do these figures include 1st party sells? Distributors have always been a necessary evil and many states have laws saying you must go through a distributor for selling elsewhere, but many breweries are just doing taprooms now to not have to deal with that. I’d like to see those stats if they exist.

    I do understand that many people are buying seltzers now, myself included.

    • commandar@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It also doesn’t help that the craft beer scene turned into a competition to push the most over the top bitter IPAs possible. A lot of the appeal of craft beer went away for me when 3/4 of the taps became unremarkable IPAs. A good IPA is wonderful, but the vast majority of what you run into isn’t that.

      It’s only marginally more interesting than when the landscape was dominated by lagers.

      • flames5123@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Hops are really awesome when used correctly, but many breweries just toss in hops to cover up bad bases. I’m lucky to have a few breweries around me that make really goods stouts and sours.

      • Tujio@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        At least around me that has improved. Ten years ago it was just a dick-measuring contest about who could make the bitterest beer. Once you hit 90+ IBUs you’re not even pretending to make something good.

        Since then, craft breweries here have course corrected. Most of them here are focusing on making a well- balanced IPA as their flagship, then experimenting with sours, stouts and saisons.

        • AA5B@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          A brewery near me is owned by a guy from India, and has been very creative with spices reminiscent of different foods from that region, that I just haven’t seen anywhere else! Maybe it’s a sour or has tamarind or a juicy IOA with different fruit notes, or a mango lassi dessert beer, etc

      • dantheclamman@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        As a lover of pale ales and browns, has been a tough few years. I used to love IPAs but the flavor is mostly played out and predictable for me at this point

      • Bye@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Oh god I love those sorry, it’s probably my fault. A regular old bitter IPA or with citra is perfect for me, and lately everywhere I go has like 10 beers I want. It’s amazing and I’m very happy.

    • EveningPancakes@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Had the same thought to myself at the Sprouts today. All I wanted was a stout. Not even a Guinness anywhere, but an entire wall of IPA’s and then the rest were hard seltzers.

  • Pickle_Jr@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 year ago

    I also wonder how liquor sales are as well.

    My wife and I are obviously only one couple, so this is confirmation bias, but alcohol in general just isn’t as appealing anymore. With all this general stress we’ve been going through (struggling with inflation, insane work hours, insane work conditions) alcohol is causing more migraines, sucky morning-after-drinking symptoms, high calories, expensive prices, there’s just no good reason to drink as much as we used to. And it’s not like we drank that much earlier in our lives as well.

    Tie this all together with marijuana availability which has none of these cons except for high taxes, then alcohol doesn’t sound as appealing anymore.

    • Telodzrum@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I also wonder how liquor sales are as well.

      Up a staggering amount. The US is in the throes of an alcohol-abuse epidemic.

      • Pickle_Jr@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        If that’s the case, keep on keeping on alcohol drinkers. 🫡

        As long as nobody is drunk driving, being a public nuisance, or hurting people in any way then I won’t tell people how to live their lives.

        Although, I feel the same way about any drug really. There’s enjoying yourself and then there’s hurting yourself.

  • FrankTheHealer@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Because it’s expensive, calorie intensive and takes longer to drink than something like whiskey or vodka.

    If I’m thirsty, I’ll drink water. If I want to get drunk, I’ll drink whiskey. Beer is the middle ground that just isn’t worth it anymore.

    • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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      1 year ago

      Best I can understand, beer is more of a social drink than anything. Slow enough to get most people wasted that they can easily drink for the 2-4 hours they’re at a party or event for without getting too badly drunk

  • archchan@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Meanwhile my drinking has hit personal record highs this year. Yay depression.

    • dirtySourdough@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I peaked during the pandemic and was also depressed. It’s a difficult cycle to break but I got out of it. If you want to chat about it let me know.

    • Empricorn@feddit.nl
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      1 year ago

      Even if you don’t stop completely, and instead only drink socially as opposed to alone I think you’ll feel a lot better. I know I did! Plus, the feeling of waking up every day 100% sober with no hangover is better than all the drunken nights. Whatever you choose, good luck…

    • BleatingZombie@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I don’t know you, but I understand how tough depression is. Just remember when things get bad that this stranger on the internet loves you. I want to see you happy and I’m sure you’ll make it there :)

  • Prethoryn Overmind@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I think beer is gross, personally, so this isn’t a post about me but reading the comments it is interesting to see beer drinkers here decide against it due to cost and wanting other choices. I have news for you guys there are cocktails and other great alcohols that cost as much as your 7 to 10 dollar beer and they taste fucking great.

    • rottingleaf@lemmy.zip
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      1 year ago

      Well, I personally get intoxicated a bit even by sweets, and also feel worse from sugar. While beer (IPA-s mostly) makes me feel better and not that much drunk.

      Ah, and that “good alcohol” you’re talking about makes me nervous, shaky, paranoid and it’s as if my hangover always started when others are only becoming drunk.

      Metabolism can be different from person to person.

    • BigBananaDealer@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      sweet drinks are fine to have 1 or 2 of, but the sugar content will fuck your stomach up badly. learned that the hard way

    • suction@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      You say “gross”, now that’s an intriguing choice of vocab…because it’s just a watery liquid, it doesn’t have a texture like snot or slime or similar typically “gross” things. I’m not saying you’re wrong in your dislike of it, the taste, smell, etc. but could you elaborate what you think is “gross” about it?

        • rottingleaf@lemmy.zip
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          1 year ago

          Beer can be different. Though TBF I only drink two kinds of beer - one is a really flavorful craft IPA which I’m unaware of being exported from Russia, another is the cheap alcohol-free thing my dad let me taste when I was 6 or 7, which gives memories and isn’t too bad.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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          1 year ago

          Beer is like soup. There’s tons of different ways to make it. There are sweet (like candy sweet, not just soda sweet) beers if you want them. The issue is you have to find them. There was a big movement towards sour beers for a while, which turned into a race for the sweetest beer and ended horribly in my opinion, but those are more rare than during that period now. There’s also beers that taste like pickles, wine, or just about whatever else you could want. There really isn’t a “beer” flavor, though there is a lager or pilsner flavor which is the typical cheap beer.

            • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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              1 year ago

              Draft beer just means it’s coming from a keg, not a style difference. You may not find beer you like, but if you’ve only tried the typical beer you get at a bar or whatever then yeah, it won’t be good. I’d say go to a brewery and ask for help. The bartenders will be happy to help and they’ll let you taste whatever you want before ordering. You can also go to a taphouse or something, but they won’t be as helpful probably and you also probably can’t get tastes.

        • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          I’m confused by this, how is soda cheaper than water? In the us, water comes out of my faucet ridiculously cheaply, and virtually every restaurant will give you water for free while charge for soda. At least with beer you get a buzz, why anyone would ever choose soda is beyond me. Well, I get it, it’s sweet. But it’s really just absolutely empty calories.

            • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              Plus I can’t upgrade the place I live in to resolve that ugh.

              If we are talking about living in a place where the water is literally nonpotable, maybe you’re correct. But if it’s simply that you don’t like the taste then this isn’t about it being more expensive. Additionally, if this is the case, you can just buy a filter, which would produce way better tasting water at a fraction of the cost of soda.

              My point about beer giving a buzz is that it actually provides something that water does not. If you are looking for caffeine from a soda, there are way better ways of getting it without getting all those empty calories as well. If you just need to hydrate, water is pretty universally the best choice (when it comes to vs soda, although maybe a tiny bit of soda would be better than just water if you are seriously deplenished from an intense workout. . .although so is a bit of beer).

              I mean, you do you, I was just curious as to how in the world soda was cheaper than water. I’m not even sure it’s cheaper if you just buy it bottled as well. I’m curious as to your math. I just did a quick check on walmart, and the water is less than a cent per ounce, while the cheapest coke I saw was about 2.9 cents per ounce. . and that required having a 2 liter bottle, which would require using it rather quickly.

  • chitak166@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    No joke, it’s all the seltzer marketing that gets people to spend way more on way less alcohol.

    It was successful as fuck. Just look at all the streamers shilling it.

    • papalonian@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      How is it spending way more on way less alcohol? In my area a 12 pack of Trulys is comparable to a 12 pack of Corona and they have roughly the same alcohol content

    • paraphrand@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think hard Seltzer is technically classified as beer?

      It says “BEER” on the back of White Claw cans.

      Can you clarify your point?

      • SolidGrue@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        If I was making hard seltzer at scale, I’d consider two options:

        1. Cut some Everclear 97% and some flavorant into water, and throw 30psi of CO2 on for it a few days (expensive)

        2. Ferment some dextrose, rack it off the yeast cake, add some flavorant, and throw 30psi of CO2 on it for a few days (cheap)

        My hombrew club hated me.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I find it hard to believe that the idiot Republicans who boycotted Bud Light stopped drinking beer entirely.