Study: New York is NOT the Best State for Beer-Lovers, Which State Is?

The Empire State has its share of incredible breweries, and those of us who live here know that very well.

Butternuts Beer & Ale was recently honored for having one of the best beer labels in America. The award for best brewery in the state was given to the Schoharie-based Wayward Lane Brewing this past April. Heck, even Dr. Frasier Crane comes to New York every now and then to pour his NY-brewed ale for eager patrons.

While the New York beer scene certainly has its share of highlights and accolades, a recent study done by Groupon did not recognize our state among the nation's best.

That left us wondering this: if New York didn't win, then who did?

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Groupon Names Best States for Beer Lovers in America; New York Not No. 1?

Here's how the folks at Groupon found data and developed rankings for the best states for beer-lovers:

• looked at reams of publicly available data and proprietary Groupon data
• calculated three metrics
  • the average score of the 5 best-tasting beers made in that state (quality),
  • the average cost of a 12oz. beer in each state (affordability)
  • the number of beer-related Groupons sold in that state per 1,000 people (enthusiasm)

With those metrics in mind, we can share with you that New York was ranked 26th in terms of the best states for beer lovers. The study said the Empire State was 12th in quality and 18th in enthusiasm, both of which would suggest a higher overall ranking.

It was the affordability ranking, which had New York in 45th out of 50 states, that hurt the Empire State's chances of topping the list.

The top ten states for beer lovers, according to Groupon data, were these:

1. California
2. Colorado
3. Michigan
4. Illinois
5. Massachusetts
6. Iowa
7. Pennsylvania
8. Minnesota
9. New Jersey
10. Arizona

The state that was ranked 50th out of 50 for beer lovers was North Dakota. Maine finished in 13th, with Connecticut in 17th, Rhode Island in 27th, New Hampshire in 32nd and Vermont in 34th.