We’ve all heard the same thing repeated as fact: “Young people aren’t drinking beer like they used to.” Meanwhile, consumers of craft beer are getting older and drinking less. But do the data bear that out?
Statistics shared in October 2025 by National Beer Wholesalers Association chief economist Lester Jones—gathered by Scarborough Research and presented in collaboration with Fintech—paint a somewhat different picture. Instead, these numbers suggest that the real issue facing the industry isn’t nondrinkers. In fact, there are apparently more U.S. beer drinkers than ever—but they are simply drinking less, per capita.
Let’s dig into the numbers...
