GR Makes List of 50 Best Cities for Beer Drinkers in America… But Not the Top Ten

Is Grand Rapids no longer Beer City USA?

For the sixth year in a row, finance website SmartAsset has ranked the top 50 cities for beer drinkers in the U.S. - and Grand Rapids seems pretty far down on the list...

To determine their ranking, SmartAsset compared 384 cities across the following metrics: total number of breweries, breweries per 100,000 residents, average number of beers per brewery, bars per 100,000 residents, and the average price of a pint.

Where in their ranking does GR fall? No. 18.

According to SmartAsset, Grand Rapids has 15 total breweries, with 7.5 per 100,000 residents. The average number of beers per brewery is 90.5 and the average number of bars per 100,0000 people is 11.5. We've also got some of the cheapest pints on the list, with an average of $3.25.

The only other Michigan city to make the top 50 is Ann Arbor, coming in at No. 49 with 11 total breweries and 9.2 per 100,000 residents. The average number of beers per brewery is 62.5 and the average number of bars per 100,000 people is 8.4. Ann Arbor also has cheap brews, with the average price of a pint matching GR's at $3.25.

So who beat us out then? Well, not one, but TWO Ohio cities made the top ten:

1. Cincinnati, OH 
2. Asheville, NC
3. St. Louis, MO
4. Portland, OR
5. Pittsburgh, PA
6. Denver, CO
7. Bend, OR
8. Madison, WI
9. Missoula, MT
10. Cleveland, OH

To see each cities stats, check out the full breakdown from SmartAsset here.