It looks like the World Cup has managed to reunite Americans with beer following a sales slump for the popular alcoholic beverage.
Back in May, The New York Times noted that U.S. beer sales had recently been in a slump. Data from the Brewer’s Association showed that overall U.S. beer production and imports were down 5.7% last year.
That drop followed controversy over Bud Light working with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and its parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev seeing a revenue drop of over $1 billion in 2023. It also came amid reports that millennials and Gen Z are cutting back on alcohol and that more Americans in general are skipping booze, in part due to health and economic concerns.
However, the celebratory atmosphere of the 2026 World Cup in North America has provided the right conditions for a beer comeback this summer, according to data from the Beer Institute cited by The Drinks Business, “on-trade venues including restaurants, pubs, bars and taprooms have already witnessed a 15.4% rise in beer sales in host nations during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.”
More than 100 World Cup matches are included in the global soccer championships this year, held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. In the U.S. alone, the Beer Institute found that on-trade beer sales are up 5.5%. Circana also reported beer sale increases.
“This is more than a soccer tournament. It is a global event where people from all over the world come together at bars, stadiums and in living rooms to cheer on their home countries over a cold beer,” Beer Institute president and CEO Brian Crawford. He said that beer in particular appears to be the alcoholic beverage of choice for World Cup fans.
In California, where games were held in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, data showed that on-trade beer sales have been up 17.9%. Massachusetts saw an approximately a 27.5% increase in sales during the opening weeks of the tournament. While six World Cup matches were held across Philadelphia, people consumed more than 290,000 beers celebrating the events.
On draught beers have been popular, with host markets noting a 14.21% increase in draught keg depletions, compared to 6.21% in non-host regions. Sales of packaged beer in bottles and cans in host states increased 19.2% and beer sales in stadiums increased by 22% despite premium prices.
Even in areas where no matches were held, sports bars were pouring more pints than usual. Per the Beer Institute data, total beverage revenue has been rising between 1% and 3% as supporters gather to watch games.
There are still a few more games to go until the World Cup final on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Will Americans thirst for beer once the tournament is won? Time will tell.
