The Top 10 Best-Selling Beers in America, Every Decade Since the ’80s [Infographic]

Before Anheuser-Busch InBev became the king of America’s macrobrewers, it was Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. Before it was Schlitz, it was Best Brewing Company, now known as Pabst Brewing Company. The ranks of Big Beer are always changing, as are the brands they produce.

In the three decades spanning the 1980s to the 2000s, Budweiser reigned as the best-selling beer in the U.S. with its market share peaking at 24.8 percent in the ’90s, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights’ 50 Years in Beer report. Budweiser was dethroned when its lower-calorie counterpart Bud Light topped the list in 2010, where it remains today. (Little did we know how pervasive consumers’ better-for-you desires would become.)

Other than Budweiser, Miller Lite is the only beer to appear in the top 10 best-selling beers each decade since the ’80s. It is also the only one to rank within each decade’s top five.

For its report, Beer Marketer’s Insights tracked each label’s number of shipped barrels across each decade from the 1980s to 2010s, plus in 2020. Over that period, the industry’s market share has widely democratized. In the ’80s, the 10 top-selling beers accounted for 68.8 percent of the market, whereas in 2020, they accounted for 53.5 percent. The waning monopoly points to the industry’s steady expansion.

The beers with the most consistent showings on these lists include Coors Light, which has placed in the top five since the 1990s; Miller High Life, which placed in the top 10 until 2020; and Corona Extra, which has been a top-selling beer since the 2000s. Corona Extra was the first Mexican cerveza to become a top 10-selling beer in the U.S., and until 2020, it was the only one. That year saw a second Mexican beer join the big leagues, with Modelo Especial ranking fifth.

For a better understanding of how the beer industry and its brands have evolved over the past four decades, check out the infographic and table below to see the top 10 best-selling beers of every decade since the 1980s.

The 10 Best-Selling Beers in the U.S. by Decade

Rank
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020

1
Budweiser
Budweiser
Budweiser
Bud Light
Bud Light

2
Miller High Life
Miller Lite
Bud Light
Budweiser
Coors Light

3
Miller Lite
Coors Light
Miller Lite
Coors Light
Miller Lite

4
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Bud Light
Coors Light
Miller Lite
Michelob Ultra

5
Coors Banquet
Busch
Natural Light
Natural Light
Modelo Especial

6
Michelob
Milwaukee’s Best
Busch
Corona Extra
Budweiser

7
Schlitz
Old Milwaukee
Corona Extra
Busch Light
Corona Extra

8
Stroh
Miller High Life
Busch Light
Busch
Busch Light

9
Old Milwaukee
Miller Gen Draft
Miller High Life
Miller High Life
White Claw

10
Old Style
Coors Banquet
Miller Genuine Draft
Keystone Light
Natural Light

*Image retrieved from Davide Angelini via stock.adobe.com

The article The Top 10 Best-Selling Beers in America, Every Decade Since the ’80s [Infographic] appeared first on VinePair.