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Favorite Boomer Beer Brands That Millennials Rarely Order

Amber Beer. Glass of fresh and cold beer. Pouring craft beer. Shallow depth of field

Favorite Boomer Beer Brands That Millennials Rarely Order

Beer is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages in the United States. In fact, it ranks as the top alcoholic beverage in the country, and when it comes to preferences, there is no denying that there has been a generational divide among consumers among what beer brands and even which types of alcohol are most popular.

There is a sub-culture around the creation and enjoyment of beer. And even though there is a shared appreciation for the yeasty lager across many generations, it's plain to see that different generations have a their own take on what is great and what is perhaps, sub-par. With data gathered from YouGov, one can compare the beer brands that are most popular among Boomers versus Millennials, and the results may surprise you.

Baby Boomers are classified as the generation born between 1946 and 1964. Millennials are considered anyone born between 1981 and 1996. (Between Baby Boomers and Millennials, is Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980.) Let's take a look at how these generational gaps change beer preferences.

Baby Boomer Beer Favorites

Guinness

Boozy Refreshing Coffee Stout Beer in a Pint Glass

This iconic Irish dry stout ranks #1 among Baby Boomers. Brewed since 1759, Guinness is made with roasted and malted barley, yeast, hops, and water. There is no caffeine, but it does have notes of rich chocolate and delicious coffee.

Among Baby Boomers, this is a top beer with a 49% popularity rating and a 96% fame rating. These numbers come from a poll conducted in 2023, of people with a positive opinion of these beer brands. For the sake of the data, age was a factor which is how this list is sorted.

Samuel Adams

cold beer

Next up we have Samuel Adams, named for the U.S. founding father who actually owned a brewery himself. The beer company has a variety of flavors and options including Lagers, seasonal varieties, and specialty brews. In terms of Baby Boomers, this beer has a 46% popularity rating and a 95% fame rating.

Coors

Beer is poured from dark brown bottle into beer glass. Close-up light fresh beer poured into glass steamed up from cold. Lager beer foams and pours from bottle into glass.

You may recognize Coors with its 99% fame rating and among Baby Boomers, it has a 43% popularity rating. Its full name is Coors Banquet and it is known for a unique banana flavoring that happens during the fermentation process. Compared to the Baby Boomer preferences, this beer is ranked much lower on the Millenials list (all the way at #31)!

Miller

We meet oktoberfest. Hand of bartender pouring a large lager beer in tap. Pouring beer for client. Side view of young bartender pouring beer while standing at the bar counter

And there then is Miller which comes in quite a few varieties. Miller High Life, which was founded in 1855, opened its first store in 1903. Its recipe includes malted barley, Pacific Northwest hops, and Miller yeast. YouGov reports a 38% popularity rating and a 97% fame rating among Baby Boomers.

Michelob Light

beer, glass, patios and party

Lastly, a Boomer favorite and low on the list of Millennial preferences, we have the Michelob Light. While there are other options from this beer brand including the Michelob Ultra, the Light is a Lager-beer brewed in Saint Louis, Missouri. It has a 38% popularity rating and a 98% fame rating on YouGov

Millennial Alcohol Preferences

Now that you know some of the top beer brands that Boomers love, let's look at the beer and hard alcohol options that Millenials prefer instead:

Modelo

Assorted Beers in a Flight Ready for Tasting,vintage filter

This is a Mexican beer that has an array of unique flavors. Try Modelo‘s piña picante, naranja picosa, limon y sal, sandía picante, mango chile. Brew variations include Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra, and Modelo Chelada. Modelo has been brewed since 1925, and today rates at 59% popularity among Millenials.

White Claw

Hard seltzer cocktail with orange, mint and ice.

While not a beer, White Claw ranks high on the Millenial list of preferred alcohols with a 56% popularity rating. White Claw is known for its tasty hard seltzers with flavors like black cherry, mango, watermelon, lime, raspberry, tangerine, passion fruit, and more. They also have Triple Wave Filtered ™ Vodka as well as vodka soda drinks. Hard seltzers really do provide quite the competition in the beer market.

Stella Artois

Close up of craft beer tasting flight at local brewery of small pint glasses in a row on a tray with rainbow variety of dark malt stouts to golden yellow hoppy ales on bar, with taps in background

This variety is a Belgian Lager that has been brewed for close to 600 years. While the process has changed, Stella Artois remains popular with a 55% popularity rating among Millennial beer drinkers.

Between Baby Boomers and Millenials, there are a few list crossovers including Heineken and Corona, both of which have a 48% popularity rating among Baby Boomers. Heineken tops the YouGov list for Millenials with a 60% popularity rating, while Corona sits at 59% popularity among the Millenials, with Corona Extra and Corona Light both ranked at 58%.

Guinness has a 55% rating among Millenials but it is still only ranked #7 on the Millenial list for beer preferences, compared to being first in terms of preferences for Baby Boomer beer drinkers.

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