Finally, an arbitrary online list that Texans can be proud of!
24/7WallSt.com has the scoop on something that most Texans probably already know: we drink a lot of beer.
The article ranks the Top Ten states based upon annual per capita beer consumption. Texas came in at 8th for the year 2011, accounting for 34.6 gallons of beer per citizen.
Texas also boasted the No. 2 spot for total consumption by volume (just behind California), guzzling an estimated 604,956,568 gallons.
The findings were based upon a report (pdf) released by the Beer Institute, a beer industry lobbying firm.
Lester Jones, chief economist for the Beer Institute, told 24/7WallSt. that the estimates of their report can be misleading, as the figures are based solely upon beer sales, not actual consumption patterns.
Jones pointed out that states like New Hampshire, which came in at No. 1 on the per capita list, may owe some of its sales to residents of neighboring states. According to him, New Hampshire’s lower tax rate on beer draws people from Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts for potential savings on their favorite suds.
Interstate beer runs may or may not acount for part of Texas’s high sales.
24/7WallSt. wrote that the beer tax rates in Texas are lower than all four of our neighbors, particularly Oklahoma. Okies tax beer that has greater than 3.2% alcohol content at a rate of $12.49 per 31-gallon barrel. That’s twice the rate of Texas, which taxes $6.01 per 31-gallon barrel for beer with an alcohol content of 4% or less.
Among Texas’s neighbors, Oklahoma was 29th on the list of soused states, with New Mexico 16th and Louisiana 11th. Arkansas lagged behind at 39th.
