The Top-Selling Beer in America for St. Patrick’s Day, According to Total Wine & More

New Year’s Eve, the night before Thanksgiving, and St. Patrick’s Day are the biggest drinking days of the year in the United States. And of the three, St. Paddy’s is the holiday most closely associated with beer consumption. 

While many assume that Guinness and generic green beer dominate the holiday (a prevailing St. Paddy’s stereotype), what do most revelers actually reach for during parties and pub crawls on March 17th?

According to Total Wine & More, the country’s largest independent retailer of alcoholic beverages, the results may be surprising. 

Tracking consumer behavior across the country, Total Wine broke down the top ten beers sold in its stores the week leading up to St. Patrick’s Day in 2024, including select key markets. Additionally, the beverage retailer examined sales of Irish beers across all its locations the week of St. Patrick’s Day last year. 

It’s worth noting that Total Wine’s data reflects only the markets it serves, with results based on case sales from a specific date range.

So, what are the go-to brews Americans rely on to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Here’s a snapshot, according to Total Wine & More.

Guinness is not America’s number one beer for St. Patrick’s Day

Though the famed Irish stout remains one of the country’s most popular beers and is undoubtedly having a moment right now, it doesn’t land at the top of the country’s list for St. Patrick’s Day 2024.

Coors Light, from Molson Coors Beverage Company, takes the coveted spot from Michelob Ultra the prior year. The light American lager, brewed in Golden, Colorado, is typically one of the best-selling beers in the U.S., favored by Western and South Western states year-round.

The second most popular beer sold during the week of St. Patrick’s Day last year was Miller Lite, produced by the Miller Brewing Company in Wisconsin. Another mass-produced American lager, Miller Lite, was first produced in 1975 and continuously ranks in the top ten most popular beers in the country. It is considered the original light beer.

“While beer sales see a significant spike in the weeks leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, Guinness and other imports remain popular year-round,” says Andrea Starr, Total Wine’s senior director of merchandising for beer and hard beverages. “After the holiday, sales return to their typical levels, maintaining steady consumer demand.” 

Starr notes a growing consumer interest in imports, with four of the top ten beers on the 2024 list being imports.

“Imports continue to see growing consumer interest, with Mexican imports leading the charge and garnering the most attention,” she says. “Meanwhile, imports from other North American countries, as well as Europe and Asia, are also experiencing strong growth, driven by the broader trend toward crisp, clean lagers and pilsners.”

Guinness is still a favorite among Irish Beers in the U.S.

Although it didn’t claim the top spot nationwide on St. Patrick’s Day last year, Guinness remains America’s favorite Irish beer.

Among Irish beers alone, Guinness Draught takes the lead, Guinness Extra Stout follows, and a limited-edition Irish Pub Pack, including a combo of Guinness Draught, Smithwicks, and Harp, lands third. Guinness Foreign Extra Stout even makes an appearance in the top ten, at number seven.

Select American markets reach for their go-tos

When examining Total Wine case sales in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Boston-area stores for the same categories and timeframe last year, the results are not that surprising, considering the markets featured. 

Modelo Especial tops Los Angeles’ beer of choice for St. Paddy’s, while Dallas puts Michelob Ultra at the top. And Guinness Draught takes number one for Boston, which is fitting given the city’s significant Irish-American population.