Focus Areas

Communities

Beer has played a role in society for millennia. Whether it’s grabbing a beer with colleagues after work, raising a pint to your local sports team, or sharing a brew with family over a meal, beer is part of the social connections that make us human.

At a Glance

For thousands of years, beer has been at the heart of social rituals which create positive shared experiences and strengthened social connections.

Beer is local through and through. Beer is brewed in ways and with ingredients that reflect local products and techniques, and brewers invest in local culture and traditions through robust community initiatives.

With expanding lower- and no-alcohol options, beer makes drinking occasions more inclusive because people can continue to enjoy the custom of sharing a beer, with or without alcohol.

Go Deeper

While some people are negatively impacted by any amount of alcohol and they shouldn’t consume beer or other alcohol products. However, research has revealed that for many people moderate amounts of alcohol—consumed in a social setting—can enhance positive emotions and social bonding and relieve negative emotions among those drinking.

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Beer can support social connection
Beer can support social connection
“The list of diseases and conditions that have been linked to social disconnection is expansive and includes depression and anxiety, psychotic disorders, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, neurocognitive impairments, poorer immune response, inflammation and poor metabolism. While decades of research have warned about the dangers of loneliness and social isolation, public health bodies have not fully embraced the need to prioritize social connection.”

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Social connection is essential to wellbeing
Social connection is essential to wellbeing
Studies show that “those who regularly visit their local pub for moderate drinking tend to be more socially engaged, feel more contented and are more likely to trust other members of their community than those who do not drink at all.”

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Pubs can foster engagement, contentment and trust
Pubs can foster engagement, contentment and trust
In one study, “alcohol consumption increased the time participants spent speaking to one another (and reduced moments of silence) and self-reported bonding.”

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Beer can support social bonding
Beer can support social bonding
Lower- and no-alcohol options support responsible drinking by enabling consumers who choose to drink to participate in social drinking occasions in a more moderate way. Consumer research shows the top reasons cited for drinking low and no alcohol are being able to drive home safely from social events and taking part in social events without drinking to excess (57%).

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No- and Lower- alcohol options expand the drinking occasion
No- and Lower- alcohol options expand the drinking occasion
Hospitality provides individual, social and community benefits, and the beer industry provides vital support for these local businesses.

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Pubs, bars, and restaurants are at the heart of communities
Pubs, bars, and restaurants are at the heart of communities
Research shows that beer goes back at least 5,000 and potentially 10,000 or 13,000 years in human history.

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Beer has been around for millenia
Beer has been around for millenia
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What they’re saying

“We need to be looking at alcohol consumption—and particularly moderate, responsible consumption—in a more holistic way. Drinking is not just the act of consuming a certain amount of ethanol. It often takes place in a social space, and it’s a way for humans to form connections, celebrate, mourn and stave off loneliness and isolation, which we know from the pandemic can have real medical consequences.”

-Dan Malleck, Professor of Health Sciences, Brock University

“Beer, out of all other alcoholic substances, has the unique ability to engender regional pride and cohesion. In part, beer is a result of geography....Since regional flavor was highly dependent upon local grains and flavorings, cultural identities were inextricably linked to specific brews.”

-Harvard Political Review

“Beer is what makes us human...Humans use these beverages to encourage social interaction, to celebrate special ceremonies in the political realm.”

Dr. Patrick McGovern, Scientific Director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Project for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health at the University of Pennsylvania Museum

Learn more about the heritage and craft of beer from the Brewers of Europe

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