Hoppy Holidays: Study finds Idahoans drink enough beer to fill 36 Olympic-sized swimming pools over holiday season

A study by PRPioneer.com, a site dedicated to public relations news and advice, found that Idahoans drink enough beer over the festive period to fill over 36 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

It is well known that we overindulge over the holidays - from Christmas cookies and hot cocoa, to holiday lunches with all the sides (and roast turkey as the centerpiece). Moreover, while Christmas booze is traditionally associated with cocktails such as Eggnogs, Hot Buttered Rums, Hot Toddys and Wassails, it is often underplayed how much beer we drink in the lead up to NYE. According to a recent poll, nearly 2 in 3 adults drink alcohol and more specifically, most prefer to drink beer over other booze (42%). It appears therefore that beer is indeed a festive drink – new releases of Christmas beers are often a highlight of the festive season for many aficionados. Seasonal brews often include complex artisanal ales, accented with Christmas flavors, fruitiness and spices.

The Methodology: Though it is no surprise that so many like to drink over the festive season, the sheer quantity of beer consumed identified in the study is astonishing. PRPioneer analyzed data showing how many gallons of beer are consumed year-round in each state. They then ran their own survey of 5,436 respondents to establish what proportion of their yearly beer consumption happens over the festive period (from Thanksgiving through to New Year’s Eve). The resulting figure was used to divide into the number of gallons in an Olympic-sized swimming pool (660,000).

When these figures are broken down by states, California (with the largest population) came top in gallons of beer consumed – over 936 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth! However, the good people at PRPioneer.com then weighted the figures by state population to establish a ranking of beer drinkers over the festive season, placing Idaho in 27th position overall.

The top 5 beer drinking states over the festive period (weighed by adult population):

-Montana

-South Dakota

-Missouri

-Alabama

-Mississippi