America sure loves its booze, and there is arguably no alcoholic drink more American than a good ol' beer. But not all beers are created equal everywhere you go in the country, which is why New Maps Plus and FloatingSheep went ahead and created an interactive map of America's regional beer preferences for you. (Because come on, you know you've always wanted one.) It's called #beerTweets, thanks to the source from which its data is drawn: Twitter. By using geolocating tweets, the creators are able to link comments about brewsky preferences to various locales around the United States, and... voila! Easily accesible, super cool and highly-scientific info about the nation's drinking habits.
Needless to say, the map has turned up some surprising (and not-so-surprising) findings so far. For one, Oktoberfest tweets were concentrated around Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota — places where it's more likely for people to celebrate the event. The map can also do some pretty cool stuff, too, like let you compare a brew with the Twitter populations that mention each beer and even compare one brew to another. For example, the map shows that it's much more likely that people will be tweeting about Weissbier in central Oregon than they will be tweeting about Oktoberfest. On the flip-side, it's much more likely that they'll tweet about Weissbier than Oktoberfest in Southern California.
Allow us now to "explore the haze of beer tweets gently drifting over the United States" (as its creators have described it), by looking at which parts of the United States can't stop talking about which beers.
1. Coors Light
If your favorite beer is an ice cold Coors Light, it's likely that you're hanging out somewhere in the Midwest, like Minnesota, Iowa, and parts of North and South Dakota. You might also be in Kansas or Oklahoma, where the refreshing ale is preferred. (Sorry, Bud Light.)
2. Corona
Looks like people east of the Mississippi have little to no interest in this pale lager — but go west, and they start to become gradually more into it. Just take California, where inhabitants seem to seriously love their Corona. It doesn't matter if you're in SoCal or NorCal; the map indicates that all of you West Coasters love it pretty hardcore.
3. Dos Equis
What can't the the Most Interesting Man in the World do? Apparently, he can't build a devoted beer drinker following, since Texas seems to be the only state in the Unite States where people are actually into Dos Equis. Sorry, dude.
4. Guinness
Guinness drinkers are concentrated in the Northeast and New England, especially in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. But perhaps this isn't a huge surprise — the Northeastern seaboard is also where most Irish Americans live, and many Irish pubs dot the landscape there. It's no wonder, then, that it's where the traditional Irish brew gets the most love.
5. India Pale Ale (IPA)
IPA lovers span the United States more than many other beer fans. Not only can they be found as far west as Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, but they also go all the way east to Boston, Massachusetts and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Just how come IPAs are so popular? Some say it has to do with its bitter taste, which more and more Americans seem to like.
6. Yuengling
Here's another no-brainer: Lovers of Yuengling are almost entirely concentrated in the very place it comes from — Pennsylvania. Yuengling is in fact made in America's Oldest Brewery, which means its roots in Pennsylvania go way back.
7. Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR)
This one is probably the least surprising of all: America's most hipster beer is most popular in some of America's most hipster cities, which include Seattle, Washington, Boulder, Colorado, and Venice Beach, California.
Pretty awesome, huh? Play around with the interactive #beerTweets map yourself and learn even more about your favorite beer.
Images: Simon Cocks/Flickr; Giphy (7)
