Millennials Are Big on Cocktails and Wine, but Beer Not So Much

Millennials are increasingly turning to wine and spirits and turning their backs on beer, and sparking fear at big beer companies, according to a report.
Millennials Are Big on Cocktails and Wine, but Beer Not So Much

Photo by: Chris Gramly ©2012 Chris Gramly

Chris Gramly, 2012 Chris Gramly

Care for a cocktail? Perhaps a glass of wine? Way to drink like a millennial!

Millennials are increasingly turning to wine and spirits and turning their backs on beer, Business Insider reports, citing a Morgan Stanley industry analysis.

Between 2012 and 2015 alone, those who said beer was their “favorite alcoholic beverage” declined from 29 percent to 26.8 percent overall — and from 33 percent to 27.4 percent among millennials, according to Morgan Stanley’s research.

What’s more, millennials who do drink beer tend to prefer craft brews to the big-name beers their fathers and grandfathers enjoyed. Annual sales of Budweiser have declined from a peak of 50 million barrels in 1988 to around 16 million barrels today, according to a November 2014 Wall Street Journal report, which also noted that fully 44 percent of drinkers between the ages of 21 and 27 had never tried a Bud. Not once. Not ever.

The trend has, not surprisingly, prompted concern among major beer makers like Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors and Heineken. As a result, many of them are expanding their product offerings to include canned and bottled cocktails, like margaritas and Long Island Iced Teas.

Those who would prefer to mix their own can try this Long Island iced tea recipe and this one for a perfect margarita.

Photo courtesy of iStock

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