In honor of Friday being National Beer Day, let’s look at the best states for beer drinkers.
BetCarolina.com – your source for North Carolina sports betting – looked at three categories: quality, quantity and affordability. We utilized three combined data points to develop the rankings from the best beer lovers to the worst in the 50 U.S. states.
We utilized BeerAdvocate.com to get the average rating of beers brewed in the state (ratings given out of 5), BrewersAssociation.org to get the number of breweries per capita (per 100,000 residents) and MakeBeerEasy.com for the average price of a 24-pack per state.
Armed with that information, we averaged out the ranking of the states to get our final rankings.
Here is what the data showed:
North Carolina tied with Rhode Island for eighth place; each state had a total average of 16. The number put them right behind New York and Indiana, which tied for sixth place with a total average of 15.
North Carolina was 23rd in quality ranking, 18th for quantity ranking and seventh for affordability ranking. Rhode Island was 22nd in quality and quantity and fourth for affordability.
The top five for total average: 1. Michigan (10); 2. Iowa (12); 3. llinois (13.3); 4. Colorado (14) and 5. Missouri (14.6).
According to BrewersAssociation.org’s State Craft Beer Sales & Production Statistics (2021), North Carolina boasts the largest number of craft breweries in the South, with more than 367 breweries (4.7 breweries per 100,000 for 21 years old and over).
The state also produced 955,111 barrels of craft beer per year at 3.8 gallons per an adult 21 and over.
Two home-grown breweries dominate the top 10 for the top-rated beers in the state at BeerAdvocate.com.
Charlotte-based Heist Brewery has three of the top 10 brews in the state, highlighted by No. 1 CitraQuench’l, a New England IPA at 7.10%; Asheville-based Wicked Weed Brewery has four of the top-rated beers, coming in a Nos. 2, 4, 9 and 10. Their Red Angel Wild Ale is ranked No. 2 in the state at 7.00%.
The average price of a domestic 24-pack (one case) of beer in the state is $16.08. The cost is one of the lowest in the nation, along with Illinois, Rhode Island and South Carolina in the $15 range and Indiana and Michigan in the low $16 range.
North Carolina passed a sports betting bill last week in the House of Representatives by a 64-45 vote last week and it now heads to the Senate.
Stay close to BetCarolina.com for any updates on legislation as well as for information on North Carolina sports betting apps.
Author
Lou Monaco had been East Coast Scene columnist for Gaming Today in Las Vegas since June 2019, covering the East Coast sportsbook scene with emphasis on NJ and PA. He also currently is a part-time writer for the high school sports department for NJ Advanced Media (NJ.com) in Iselin, NJ. Lou has over 30 years sports experience with previous stints at ESPN SportsTicker, Daily Racing Form and Oddschecker.
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