Illinoisans drinking less beer, more wine and liquor
Though New Year's Eve might not be a good reflection of the trend, you're drinking less beer, Illinois.
But you're drinking more wine and liquor, statistics show.
Over the first nine months of 2011, Illinoisans bought 10 million gallons less beer than over the same period five years ago. That's a 4.9 percent drop.
Over the same time period, wine sales have gone up by 5.6 percent and liquor has gone up by 5.4 percent.
Don't worry, though, beer fans. That brew remains the king of alcoholic beverages in the state, with 203.4 million gallons sold over the first nine months of the year compared to wine's 24 million gallons and 13.2 million gallons of spirits.
The numbers come from the Illinois Department of Revenue, which can track alcoholic beverage sales via taxes on the drinks.
In the suburbs, Christina Anderson-Heller, marketing director for Lynfred Winery in Roselle, says more people are turning to wine as they move past the drink's onetime image as a confusing drink brought by a snobby waiter.
“Wine has become more friendly in the last decade,” she said. “It's become more approachable.” Not only that, Anderson-Heller says, but twentysomethings' drinking habits have been influenced by their parents.
“The baby boomers were big wine drinkers,” she said.
On the beer side, overall consumption might be down, but the market appears to be moving more toward craft beers like the ones brewed at Two Brothers Brewing Co. in Warrenville.
Owner Jason Ebel says his company has grown 62 percent over 2010, and the company opened an Aurora location this year as a result. “Craft beer is definitely the way people are looking,” he said.
Ebel said that at a time when the economy is sluggish, beer can provide an “affordable luxury” for people who might be cutting their budgets in other places.
Plus, his company could be benefiting from an increased interest in locally produced products, he said.
The overall decrease in beer consumption, Ebel said, might reflect an interest in drinking more responsibly. “Beer can be a wonderful thing,” he said. “It can also be a dangerous thing if you abuse it.”
That's the message the Illinois Liquor Control Commission is promoting this New Year's Eve, wanting to particularly discourage underage drinking. The commission is partnering with groups across the state on a campaign aimed at underage drinkers in particular, saying most teenagers get alcohol at home.
“The holidays, and especially New Year's Eve, are times for celebrations, and alcohol is often a part of the equation,” said Gloria Materre, executive director of the Liquor Control Commission. “Underage drinking is a common occurrence during the winter break, especially when the clock strikes midnight.”
Parents could face trouble when something goes wrong.
In May this year, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled a Lake County couple were not responsible for the drunken driving death of an underage teen who consumed alcohol at their house. The court found Sara and Jeffrey Hutsell should not be held accountable for the death of 18-year-old Daniel Bell after a 2006 party in their Deerfield home because they did not provide the alcohol.
The court differentiated this situation from the death of a 16-year-old girl in Orland Park in 1997. In that case, the girl died after drinking a bottle of hard liquor, but the hosts provided the alcohol.
The Hutsells were still convicted on criminal charges in a separate case and sentenced to probation and, for Jeffrey Hutsell, a short jail term.