Mississippi ranks No. 47 in a new list measuring which states have the most interest in beer. But which brew comes out on top in the Magnolia State?
A new analysis of Google search data by Innerbody offers an answer by ranking the most popular beers in each state, as well as the states with the strongest overall interest in beer.
Mississippi ranked No. 47 overall among all 50 states and Washington, D.C., with a search-interest score of 26.16.
Bud Light came out on top in Mississippi in Innerbody's analysis, which examined Google Trends data to determine which prominent beer brands generated the most interest in each state.
The light beer was No. 2 in the national rankings, behind Michelob Ultra in the top spot.
Light beers were five of the eight most popular brands in the study.
Mississippi has some of the lowest interest in beer, at least via Google search, in the country.
That doesn't necessarily mean Mississippi residents aren't beer drinkers. The ranking measures online search interest in a specific group of nationally prominent beer brands. It's not an indication of actual beer consumption or the size of the state's brewing industry.
Michelob Ultra took the No. 1 spot nationally in the analysis.
Wisconsin claimed the top spot for the second consecutive year, recording a search-interest score of 98.53.
Wyoming followed in second, while the Midwest dominated the upper portion of the list. Seven Midwestern states appeared among the top 10, reflecting a long brewing tradition in the region.
Innerbody analyzed Google Trends search data covering 12 months across all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Researchers first assembled a broad list of prominent U.S. beers based on national search volume, removing brands whose names could produce unrelated search results. They then used Google Trends data to identify 36 of the most prominent beers and compared search patterns across states.
The analysis weighted beer searches by overall search volume to account for both the geographic reach and the relative significance of interest in each brand.
Jennifer Lindahl is a Breaking and Trending Reporter in Alabama for USA TODAY's Deep South Connect Team. Connect with her on X @jenn_lindahl and email at [email protected].
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: What's Mississippi's favorite beer? New study names top brew