Countering the narrative – US consumers still want to drink and socialise away from home – Comment

Why are alcohol volumes dropping in the US? According to the National Beer Wholesalers Association, consumers are spending more on less as they flock back to the country’s on-premise channel. The alcohol industry would do well to avoid false narratives; Americans still like to drink and socialise. In a world drowning in data and noise, there are far too many distracting statistics and insights that are serving to confound the many analysts and journalists tracking beverage alcohol.There is no doubt that alcohol volumes fell in both 2024 and 2025, and the industry was hyper-focused on exogen