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Californians (still) love their beer. (Burp.)

May 15, 2026

Have we no fealty to Napa and Sonoma? Do Paso Robles/Santa Barbara fill us with ennui?

A wine server pours samples at The Cave at Oak Mountain Winery in Temecula.. (2016 photo by David Bauman, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) — (File photo by David Bauman, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Despite producing some of the world’s finest wines, Californians last year drank a solid 7% less of what we once called “Mommy juice” — a slightly steeper drop than seen in the rest of the country, where wine drinking fell by 6%.

Brew bellies, however, may abound.

While beer consumption also dropped 6% nationwide, it fell exactly 0% in California.

This is the latest from IWSR, the analytical trade organization once known as International Wine and Spirits Record, which calls itself a leader tracking the global beverage alcohol market.

Drinking-wise, California has an interesting bit of Jekyll and Hyde going on:

— Overall, booze consumption here dropped only 2%, compared to a 5% drop nationwide.

— Those pre-mixed “ready to drink” thingies? Down 8% in California, but down only 1% nationwide.

— The hard stuff? Spirit swilling was down 5% in California, compared with a 4% drop nationwide.

A glass of Upside Dawn Golden at the Athletic Brew Company, in Miramar, Tuesday Nov. 11, 2025, in San Diego, California. Their beers are non-alcoholic with less than 0.5% of alcohol by volume. Howard Lipin / For The San Diego Union-Tribune....NOTE: No sign on the outside of the building, as they're in what used to be the Ballast Point building, which still has the Ballast Point name on it. And not a lot of activity inside. — A glass of Upside Dawn Golden at the Athletic Brew Company, in Miramar, Tuesday Nov. 11, 2025, in San Diego, California. Their beers are non-alcoholic with less than 0.5% of alcohol by volume. Howard Lipin / For The San Diego Union-Tribune….NOTE: No sign on the outside of the building, as they’re in what used to be the Ballast Point building, which still has the Ballast Point name on it. And not a lot of activity inside.

And how temperate we are! Though it’s still just a tiny fragment of the market, no-alcohol wine consumption rose 29% here, compared to 19% nationwide, while consumption of non-alcoholic beer was up 22% in California vs. a jump of 15% nationally.

“California’s beverage alcohol market outperformed the national trend in 2025, with the state’s strong beer culture (particularly Mexican imports) providing a buffer against the broader industry decline,” said IWSR Research Director Adam Rogers in a statement.

“Beer accounts for 63% of California’s total beverage alcohol volume and has structural advantages with several major brands all growing. California also benefits from a diverse range of options for drinking at bars, restaurants and clubs.”

Yay us!

You may recall that alcohol consumption hit record highs during the pandemic, and really, who could blame us? A study by Keck Medicine of USC found that from 2018 through the end of 2020 heavy alcohol use grew by 20%, and that it remained elevated for years after the pandemic peaked. Drinking tapered off in 2023, continued to decline in 2024, and reached a record low in 2025, when just 54% of U.S. adults said they drink alcohol. That was the lowest since the Gallup Poll began asking the question in 1939.

But the 2025 vs. 2024 numbers tell an even more complicated tale.

It was a year of “difficult trading conditions,” IWSR said, noting high inflation, shifting consumer behavior and intense trade disruptions.

“Affordability concerns are forcing many consumers to cut discretionary spending, and this is putting the beverage alcohol industry under pressure,” said Marten Lodewijks, IWSR president and managing director, in a statement.

The overall number of people drinking hasn’t changed, he postulated. Instead, more people are drinking less often and having fewer drinks when they do indulge.

“Moderation trends are also playing a role. But when consumer confidence rebounds, we expect volumes in many categories currently in decline to start growing again,” he said.

The injectable drug Ozempic. — (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

We suspect there’s something else at work here: The explosion of GLP-1 weight control drugs.

About one of every eight adults in the United States is taking one, which is more than 30 million people, according to recent estimates. Researchers believe GLP-1s show promise for tackling other prickly health problems such as smoking and alcoholism.

That could be curbing binge-drinking, which we see in many pockets of Orange County (often close to the shore and near college campuses, where there’s a younger demographic).

Heading to Las Vegas anytime soon? While the amount of alcohol imbibed declined in 49 of the 50 states, Nevada bucked the trend. There, alcohol consumption grew by 3%.

My personal favorite as of late, prosecco, saw a 3% increase as well, IWSR found.

Group Of Friends Enjoying Evening Drinks with korean food & soju — Thinkstock

Evening with Korean food and soju

Perhaps the most interesting increase was in “national spirits” (i.e. Scotch from Scotland, vodka from Russia/Poland, etc.), which grew 18%. The overwhelming majority of that gain came thanks to the surging popularity of the Korean spirit soju.

This data is from IWSR’s US Navigator product, which reports volume data at the national and state level. Global data will be released soon.

While we do love our bubbly, we’d be remiss not to remind you here that alcohol is the drug that kills more Americans than any other.

While overdose deaths from fentanyl and its sinister cousins have seized the spotlight for years — hitting a high of 110,000 in 2022 and declining to about 70,000 by last year — alcohol-related diseases kill many more people, about 178,000 Americans annually, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

The World Health Organization says there is no safe level of alcohol consumption, and STAT News’ new series on “The Deadliest Drug” is sobering reading:

“Alcohol is central to American life because of its social and cultural benefits to the many people who drink without issue,” STAT News’ report says. “But alcohol’s ubiquity persists in the face of mountains of research linking heavy drinking to cancer, heart disease, stroke, cognitive decline, developmental disorders, gun violence, injuries and countless other consequences.”

Alcohol-related emergency department visits nearly doubled in the U.S. between 2003 and 2022, STAT News found.

So if you tipple, please tipple moderately. Less is more. The data suggests people may be figuring that out.

Californians (still) love their beer. (Burp.) Orange County Register

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Californians (still) love their beer. (Burp.)

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