These Are the 8 Beers Americans Are No Longer Drinking

Some of America’s most famous beers have lost a tremendous amount of their national sales over the last five years. 24/7 Wall St. looked at the 23 largest-selling beer products in America and discovered eight that have lost a staggering 30 percent or more of their sales between 2005 and 2010.

Most of the beers whose sales declined that much have one thing in common—they are “full-calorie” beers, or about 145 calories a can. Instead, beer drinkers have turned to “light beers” (or "lite"), which have 100 calories a can, and “ultra-lights,” which are closer to 90 calories.

Surprisingly, Budweiser, for years the best-selling beer in America, has lost 30 percent of its sales over the five-year period. Given that Budweiser sold 18 million barrels last year, that's a massive loss–more than 7 million barrels less. Sales of Bud Light, on the other hand, held steady at just over 39 million barrels during the five year period. Six other products on the 24/7 Wall St. list have also lost half their sales since 2005.

Other than lighter-calorie beers, drinkers have also turned to imports, such as Corona, and to craft beers, which are produced, and usually also consumed, in relatively small regions, according to Eric Shepard of beer marketer’s INSIGHTS. Overall, sales of beer from 2005 to 2010 rose 1.9 million barrels to 208.4 million barrels. But sales of the top 20 brands dropped 10 million barrels to 149 million, a sign that Americans have turned to craft beers and imports.

24/7 Wall St. used two databases to do its analysis. One is kept by SymphonyIRI Group, one of the largest consumer research firms in the U.S. The other is from specialist research firm, beer marketer’s INSIGHTS, Inc.

These are 24/7 Wall St.’s “Beers Americans No Longer Drink:”

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(Douglas A. McIntyre/Becket Adams - 27/7 Wall Street/The Blaze)