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Once again Chicago topped the list of American cities getting into the St Patrick’s Day spirit this year, but analysts were stunned by the degree of beer sales growth over the holiday.
It should surprise few that Chicago, famous for its commitment to St Patrick’s Day, remains the biggest city for celebrating the patron Saint of Ireland by far, with soaring sales of beer and stout.
Chicago’s St Patrick’s Day beer sales in bars this year were $8,287, almost 221% higher than a ‘regular’ Saturday… and a 200% increase for the holiday weekend.
This was considerably more than the $3103 generated by those celebrating St Patrick’s Day at bars in Boston this year. And even though Boston came in at second place (an increase of 33%) you have to wonder how the city’s once proud Irish community dropped the ball this time around.
Washington DC generated $2819 in bar beer sales, a 31% increase over 2018’s spectacular showing and as always the American Craft Beer crew did their part.
ACB’s Tom Bobak contributes to beer sales on St Patrick’s Day
According to Nielsen CGA data, other cities in the St Patrick’s Day top ten included Los Angeles, New York (NYC used to own St Patrick’s Day), Dallas (it does better on Cinco de Mayo), San Francisco, Miami (see Dallas), Houston (likewise) and Tampa (also known as Chicago South).
And it wasn’t just stouts that fueled St Patrick’s Day this year. Premium wines were up by 80%, along with imported drinks (up 52%) and cider (up 46%). And less surprisingly Irish whiskey was also up.
According to Nielsen St. Patrick’s Day remains the single highest grossing day of the year for sales of booze in bars and restaurants across the US.
Over a third of the nation visits a bar on St Patrick’s Day, only slightly less then bar attendance on New Year’s Eve, Super Bowl Saturday and Valentine’s Day.
Last year saw sales of beer rise 20% with stout sales receiving a boost of 141% compared to the previous weekend. The Drinks Business reports that “this peaked in Chicago and Boston, where sales rose 688% and 355% respectively.”
St Patrick’s Day image credit: The Drinks Business
