A new Google Trends analysis puts Wisconsin first in beer-related search interest and California 46th, with the Midwest dominating the top of the national map.
California may be America’s largest state by population, but when it comes to beer interest, the Golden State isn’t leading the pack.
Instead, the top of the beer-interest map is dominated by states such as Wisconsin, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Missouri—many of them Republican-leaning states.
According to consumer research firm Innerbody Research, Wisconsin ranks No. 1 in America for beer-related search interest, based on a year’s worth of Google Trends data for major beer brands.
California, meanwhile, ranks much lower on the list.
That contrast makes for an especially interesting Labor Day story.
Beer has been part of American life since colonial times, but its cultural roots remain particularly strong across the Midwest and Great Plains. In states such as Wisconsin and Missouri, beer is deeply connected to sports, tailgating, backyard cookouts, local taverns, fishing trips and summer celebrations.
And when the beer map is placed next to America’s political map, an intriguing pattern emerges:
Many of the states with the strongest beer-search interest are red states.
The data don’t tell us that individual Republicans drink more beer than Democrats. Innerbody measured state-level Google search interest, not individual consumption.
But the geographic pattern is certainly eye-catching.
So this Labor Day, while Americans take a break from work and politics, there’s perhaps an easy subject everyone can agree on:
Good food. Good friends. A cold beer.
And if the latest beer map is any indication, Red America has plenty of reasons to raise a glass.
