BeerBoard releases St. Patrick’s Day draft data report: IPAs and ciders saw notable growth

You like data? BeerBoard’s got data. The company and its tech monitor more than 50,000 draft lines on a constant basis and then uses that info to generate a delicious amount of data. With St. Patrick’s Day just passing, we thought we’d check with BeerBoard to see what sort of draft stats emerged from the holiday dedicated to drinking. Stuff like….

• Stouts typically rank at No. 8 overall among the top styles poured in the United States. On St. Patrick’s Day 2018, stouts climbed to the No. 2 overall style nationally (8.35 percent share), muscling past lagers and IPAs, the traditional No. 2 and No. 3-ranked styles.
• Looking at the 30-day window leading up to St. Patrick’s Day (Feb 16-March 16), stouts regularly claim a share average of 2.33 percent. As mentioned, that spiked to 8.35 percent on St. Patrick’s Day for a 258 percent increase.
• The No. 1 stout served in America again dominated pour volumes for St. Patrick’s Day. Guinness claimed a staggering 98.2 percent share of the stouts served. Riding the wave of green, the brand moved all the way up to the No. 3 brand poured on the day (typically checking in at No. 14 overall), claiming an 8.2 percent overall share. Up from its standard 1.68 percent share, Guinness saw a one-day lift of 388 percent.
• IPAs and ciders both saw notable growth in its share percentage over St. Patrick’s Day 2017. IPAs were up 30.6 percent for same-day, same-store sales, while cider realized a 7.3 percent bump. IPAs were definitely pushed by the introduction of Stone Scorpion Bowl IPA, which rocketed up the charts to settle in at the No. 26 overall brand (0.39 percent share). Ciders were led by Angry Orchard. The No. 13 overall brand had a 1.23 percent share for the day.

Top five overall

Light lager won the day, claiming a 43.8 percent share. Following stouts at No. 2, American IPA came in at No. 3 (7.43 percent), American lagers were No. 4 at 7.2 percent and American wheat rounded out the top five with a 4.35 percent share. Bud Light (16.5 percent) and Miller Lite (10.3 percent) were the No. 1 and No. 2 brands poured, respectively. As mentioned, Guinness came in at No. 3 and was followed by Coors Light (7.83 percent) and Michelob Ultra (6.44 percent).

“The St. Patrick’s Day Report by BeerBoard is our annual look at beer consumption on what is one of America’s favorite holidays,” said Mark Young, founder and CEO of BeerBoard. “We came away with interesting insights for various styles and brands, but, as to be expected, we saw a one-day spike in Stouts poured. This is a day when all of America’s beer drinkers feel at least a little bit Irish and the data proves that out.”

For this year’s report, BeerBoard introduced a snapshot of major cities across America and featured the top three styles and brands poured on St. Patrick’s Day. To see what your cities served, click right here.