Cheers To The Beers! These Are The 8 Most Popular Types Of Beer In America

What a fun survey to ask! Over 850 beer loving Americans were asked to name their favorite of types of beer and the results are somewhat surprising considering how we are consuming more different types of beer than ever before. Gone are the days of only having a handful of local and national beer companies that sold over 90% of what we drank.

Up until 20 years ago most of us consumed beers from one of the Big Three breweries, Budweiser, Miller, Coors. Then came micro breweries that were popping up all over the country giving consumers so many more options. In Massachusetts it was Sam Adams, in Maine it was Shipyard Brewing that got the local breweries going, they were followed by smaller start ups that started as hobbies born of a passion to brew something better and different.

The small brewers wanted to offer more variety than the big guys were offering, they started brewing IPA's and Stouts and Brown Ales and many more divirgent types of beers. The tastes of the average beer drinker began to diversify with a desire for the bigger bolder tastes that was different from their parents beers which tended to be the same brand over and over.

A cool trend that began in the early 2000s were breweries that were also destinations. You could go to your favorite brewery and sample their many where’s while noshing on tasty bar food.

You might be surprised to learn that the most popular beer in America is one of the originals. It was invented by Germans, no surprise there and it’s still the best selling type of beer in America. I must admit it is also my favorite type of beer as well. It is the most thirst quenching of all.

According to Wikipedia, Porter was first mentioned in 1721, as a development of the brown beer already being produced across London, and delivered to publicans to age and blend to their customers tastes.[8] The innovation is attributed to Ralph Harwood, a brewer at the Bell Brewhouse in Shoreditch.

The style of pale ale which became known as India pale ale was widespread in England by 1815, and would grow in popularity, notably as an export beer shipped to India (which was under the control of the British East India Company until 1858) and elsewhere.

Stout is a dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout.

Brown ale is a style of beer with a dark amber or brown colour. The term was first used by London brewers in the late 17th century to describe a lightly hopped ale brewed from 100% brown malt.

Wheat beer is a top-fermented beer which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. The two main varieties are German Weizenbier and Belgian witbier; other types include Lambic (made with wild yeast),

Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the Bohemian city of Plzeň (German: Pilsen), where the world's first pale lager (now known as Pilsner Urquell) was produced in 1842 by Pilsner Urquell Brewery.

Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared in England around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Different brewing practices and hop quantities have resulted in a range of tastes and strengths within the pale ale family.

Lager is a type of beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature.[1] Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storage", as the beer was stored before drinking, traditionally in the same cool caves in which it was fermented.