2023 St. Patrick’s Day Report by BeerBoard

by JC Whipple

Leader in technology solutions and intelligence releases its annual report on draft beer surrounding the Day o’ the Green

SYRACUSE, NY (March 20, 2023) — BeerBoard, the leader in technology solutions and automated intelligence for the on-premise hospitality industry, today released its 2023 St. Patrick’s Day Report, a review of insights and performance data for draft beer on the day that everyone in America is at least a little bit Irish.

BeerBoard’s robust client list features local bars and restaurants, high-profile independent groups and major chain operators across North America including Buffalo Wild Wings, Hooters, Twin Peaks, Winking Lizard and Hickory Tavern.

And without further ado, let’s see if any Leprechauns had an impact at the taps:

 

What Are We Looking At?
St. Patrick’s Day is officially back and finally put the bumpiness of Covid in the rear-view mirror once and for all. This year, St. Patrick’s Day fell on Friday and also aligned with the opening weekend of the Men’s College Basketball Tournament. This annual report shows St. Patrick’s Day is much more than just Irish folk songs and people wearing something green; it has a direct impact on bars, brewers and markets. The 2023 report looks at March 17, 2023, and compares same-store data against March 17 in both 2022 and 2021.

Draft is Running On Green
Across the nation, on-premise draft volume for St. Patrick’s Day was up significantly. Draft volume was +20.8% when put against returns for the holiday in 2022. When compared to 2021, draft was +81.3% on the day. Looking at the previous Friday (March 10), draft volume was +45%, which can be attributed to the confluence of the lead-in to the weekend, coupled with the basketball tournament.

A Bump for Lagers
For the second straight year, Lagers saw a nice bump on St. Patrick’s Day. When compared to 2022, Lagers were +10%. It was also +74% in 2022 (when compared to 2021). IPAs were +5% on the day, while Light Lagers dipped -1.5% when compared to 2022.

Stouts (aka Guinness) Outperform Average
As they typically do on St. Patrick’s Day, Stouts outperformed their return on a “normal” day. Typically ranked #11 on the list of Top Styles, Stouts checked in #4 for the Holiday (even through volume returns were up a nominal +1.6% nationally). Guinness, the top-poured stout, and typically sitting just outside the Top 10 brands, climbed to the #6 brand for the day.

St. Patrick’s Day Hubs See Bounceback
Major American cities, noted for their St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, realized a major lift. In New York City, volume was +53.3% over 2022 and saw Guinness as the #1 poured beer (up from #3 in 2022). Chicago, which famously dyes the Chicago River green for the day, was +31% over 2022. Guinness was the top-poured draft in the Windy City, up from #5 in 2022, and +36% in draft volume over the year prior.

What was going on in The ‘Cuse?
It wouldn’t be St. Patrick’s Day without reporting on what happened in our home base of Syracuse, NY. Guinness was again the #1 beer poured in “The ’Cuse” on the holiday. Patrons celebrated enough to lift draft volume +4.2% over 2022.


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About BeerBoard

BeerBoard is the leading technology solutions provider for the hospitality industry, enabling retailers and suppliers to make fact-based decisions about their complete alcohol management. The company manages more than $1 billion in alcohol sales and 55,000 products through its industry-leading solution. Its patented digital platform captures, analyzes, and reports real-time data related to alcohol performance, ordering, inventory and payments. The versatile platform is easily operated from a single dashboard, and it has streamlined operations and increased top and bottom-line revenue for operations of every size across the United States. Find out more about how BeerBoard is changing the alcohol industry at  beerboard.com.

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