It’s easy to get down these days about beer sales. Stories proclaiming 2017 the “worst year for beer volumes since 2009” have beer lovers in a tizzy. Thankfully, Gallup is here to save the day with a poll that found beer is still the most preferred alcoholic beverage in the U.S.
The poll found that 62 percent of Americans drink alcohol, and 40 percent of those drinkers say they most often drink beer. Meanwhile, 30 percent preferred wine and 26 percent preferred liquor. There are 7 percent fewer beer drinkers today than there were in the early ‘90s according to Gallup. Still, it’s nowhere near as bad as 2005, when wine overtook beer for the first (and only) time.
The study is probably most reassuring to brewers, thanks to two lines in the report: “Americans are about as likely to consume alcohol as they have been for the past eight decades,” and, “Many of the Founding Fathers enjoyed beer, and it remains the most popular alcoholic beverage in the U.S. today.”
I can crack open a cold one to that.
Someone’s selling 9,000 beers dating back to 1975
In other news, someone’s selling 9,000 beer cans. Really. Not for drinking, obviously, but for collecting, because beer cans are the new Beanie Babies.
Nick West, a banker from Somerset, England, filled “every corner of his house” with beer cans for a “beer can library,” according to The Drinks Business. He’s selling them because his wife is tired of them. Can you blame her?
But about that Beanie Babies comparison … a U.S. beer can collector sold his collection of 87,000 vintage beers for $1.6 million. That would put West’s collection at around $166,000. Not a fortune, but definitely more than what the people who held on to their Beanie Babies for too long got.
Beer Instagram is terrible — except for beer dogs. Beer dogs are everything
On June 6, Brew Studs dove into the data of craft beer’s social media influencers. One of the largest platforms was Instagram, where more than 11 million posts have been tagged with #craftbeer. The top posters using the hashtag have tens of thousands of dedicated followers — just one more example of how “influencers” are taking the place of traditional advertisements.
But beer Instagram really isn’t all that good. Believe me, I’ve spent an embarrassing number of hours scrolling through the Beerstagram. Breweries like Blue Point, Dogfish Head, and countless others are putting out consistently appealing content, but in general, the average craft beer lover is awful at social media. Except for accounts that combine dogs and beer. We all need more dogs and beer Instagram accounts.
So here it is. A short list of dog beer accounts to get you started on a path to happiness that no one asked for but everyone needs.
Example one: Pablo Escobeer
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVnE7hagG3x/
Juan Pablo Escobeer — a craft beer enthusiast and farting champ — is a French bulldog that poses with beers. This account is far and away most entertaining beer-centered Instagram account. I don’t know why he’s always wearing a bib, but I do know he deserves more than the 2,396 followers he has at the time of this writing. I want every beer that Juan Pablo Escobeer has.
Example two: Barley the Brewpup
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWIbu4ohb35/
This pupper is a corgi/husky rescue that always looks so d*ng happy. Not every picture features a beer, but the ones that do are expertly composed.
Example three: Poppy the Beer Dog
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUs3l8_Afje/
Maybe you’re not one for small and shaky dogs. Maybe you don’t have a soul. But if you do, you need to follow Poppy as she stares expectantly into your soul while surrounded by beers.
When in doubt: Dogs on Tap
https://www.instagram.com/p/BP8sEkpgX1T/
You don’t need to search for all your new favorite Beerstagram feeds alone. Dogs on Tap collects the finest dog and beer photos in existence. You’re welcome.
