This Is the No. 1 Beer in America, According to a New Report

Key points

• Michelob Ultra ranks as the most popular beer in the U.S. based on Google search interest, followed by Bud Light, Stella Artois, Budweiser, and Guinness.

• Stella Artois ranks first in more states than any other beer, leading searches in 12 states and Washington, D.C., while Guinness is especially popular along the East Coast.

• Despite national brands dominating the rankings, several states favor beers with local ties, including Fat Tire in Colorado, Samuel Adams in Massachusetts, and Miller Lite in Wisconsin.

Americans may have plenty of regional beer loyalties, but one light lager attracts more attention nationwide than any other.

According to a new analysis of Google search data by Innerbody, Michelob Ultra ranks as the most popular beer in the U.S. After the low-carbohydrate pale lager, the report names Bud Light, Stella Artois, Budweiser, and Guinness as the five most popular beer brands across the states. Michelob Ultra was the most searched beer in three states: Alabama, Nevada, and Oklahoma.

Innerbody analyzed Google Trends data for 36 prominent beers across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., over a 12-month period, weighting search terms by cumulative search volume. (The findings reflect search interest, not how much beer consumers actually bought or drank.) However, for Michelob Ultra, search volume appears to reflect buying preference: Last year, owner Anheuser-Busch  announced  that the brand had become America's top-selling beer, after growing 15% since 2020 and gaining more than two percentage points of market share.

Stella Artois is the favorite in more states than any other beer

Another Anheuser-Busch brand,  Stella Artois , leads in more states than any other beer in the report, ranking first in 12: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The Belgian lager traces its roots to Leuven, where it was introduced by Brouwerij Artois, a brewery dating to the 14th century.

Related: We Tried 6 of America's Top-Selling Light Beers, Sight-Unseen — One Clear Winner Emerged

All but one of the top five brands are lagers, with Guinness as the outlier. The Irish stout is also the only dark beer on the list. Guinness, which ranks fifth nationally, has a particularly strong following along the East Coast, leading search interest in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.

Some states are still loyal to hometown beers

Major national and international brands dominate the overall ranking, but several states still search most for beers with strong historical or contemporary connections to home.

• Colorado:Fat Tire, first brewed in Fort Collins in 1991

• Massachusetts:Samuel Adams Boston Lager, first brewed in Boston in 1984

• Minnesota:Hamm's, first brewed in St. Paul in 1865

• Missouri:Budweiser, first brewed in St. Louis in 1876

• Washington:Rainier Beer, first brewed in Seattle in 1878

• Wisconsin:Miller Lite, first brewed in Milwaukee in 1975

Curiously, Michigan searched most for Yuengling, a pilsner brewed in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. First established in 1829, D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc. is the oldest and largest craft brewery in the U.S.

Related: We Ranked 20 Mass-Market North American Lagers by Taste Alone — Here's Who Won

Sam Adams' brewer, the Boston Beer Company, is the only other craft brewery on the list besides Yuengling. It's the third-largest craft brewery in the country.

Want to learn more about the very best beers? Join beer pro  Anne Becerra  at the  2026 Food & Wine Classic in Charleston,  November 13-15. Get your tickets  here .

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