We know that NFL fans drank a lot on Sundays, some more than others (*cough* Buffalo). But which beer brands were they drinking? Judging from the commercials that run on repeat during the games that aren’t for FanDuel or Draft Kings, you’d probably guess Bud Light, and that does seem to be the case for almost one third of the fans in the league — according to a new study from Nielsen.
While Bud Light’s strong fan loyalty makes sense — they’re the official beer of the NFL after all — the results overall were quite surprising. Nielsen gathered the drinking data through their partnership with an app call BARTRENDr:
Nielsen and BARTRENDr took a look back at the 2015 pre-season and regular football season to pinpoint the most talked about beer and spirits brands among America’s football fan base. Tapping into conversations happening within BARTRENDr’s exclusive online community, trending topics reflecting fan favorites were captured at social scenes from around the country that included bars, tailgating locations and friendly gatherings—even living rooms and man caves.
As Nielsen is a well-known, widely respected research firm, we decided to map the results despite some apparent oddities. That said, the fanbase beer allegiances that stood out the most to us as the most odd included:
- The appearance of Guinness in Pittsburgh and Chicago.
- Coors Light only showing up as a fan favorite in Houston. That Coors Light is apparently less popular among NFL fans than Original Coors is even odder as is the fact it is less popular than Bud Light in Denver.
- Heineken taking the most popular crown in Carolina.
Head over to Nielsen to see the most popular spirits brands among fans as well.
