Although it's popularity has declined somewhat recently, according to a Gallup Poll beer is America's favorite adult beverage. It's the choice of 41 percent of drinkers, beating out wine (31 percent), and liquor (23 percent).

In 2013, 6.6 billion gallons were shipped into the United States, says website 24/7 Wall St., which equaled 27.6 gallons per drinking age adult. The residents of some states, however, drink much more beer than others.

According to Beer Marketer's Insights, adults of drinking age in North Dakota drank 43.6 gallons in 2013, more than twice the amount of 19.6 gallons consumed by adults in Utah.
The top 10 beer-drinking states according to figures from 2013 are:

1. North Dakota
2. New Hampshire
3. Montana
4. South Dakota
5. Vermont
6. Wisconsin
7. Nevada
8. Maine
9. Nebraska
10. Iowa

Residents of states with the highest beer consumption rates tended to drink more heavily, with a higher percentage of people consuming more than the recommended maximum of two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women. Those states also had more people who indulge in binge drinking. According to 24/7 Wall St., 7.8 percent of Wisconsin adults and 7.7 percent of adults in Montana — two states where beer consumption is high — admitted to being heavy drinkers.

Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control show that 1 in 10 deaths among adults is associated with excessive drinking.