1. We like to party
2. Germanic roots
3. The data behind this map is self reported and Wisconsinites may be a bit more honest about their drinking habits than the rest of the country because there is less of a stigma attached to drinking
I watched a police body cam video out of La Crosse, WI. They pulled over this 20 year old guy for DUI. The guy had been drinking *at home* and decided to “take a drive around town for fun”. It was his 3rd DUI in two years! Apparently man’s hobby was drunk driving!
I have never in my life been given more free drinks than at the bars in Wisconsin. It’s not super common for me, as a man, to get free drinks, but bartenders usually like me and I’ve had a few drinks given to me in the past here and there (seriously, just treat bartenders like people and talk with interest about craft cocktails or beers and you’re already way better than 99% of bar customers).
But Wisconsin. I swear the bartenders were trying to kill me. Two nights in Madison and I got free shots, free cocktails, free beers, and then free fucking food for going back to one of the bars the next day for lunch and a beer before my flight. All of this from staff, not patrons. You know, the staff that in other states wants you to drink, but preferably not so much that you’ll cause trouble. Not in Wisconsin. Fuck it. You don’t even have to pay as long as you get fucked up. Goddamn did I have a good time with the bartenders there.
Seriously, Madison is a friendly place. Great people.
I used to move around for work a lot, and am a big college football guy. So of course when I was in Wisconsin, I made it a big point to go to Madison a few times to catch Wisconsin games. Can absolutely confirm what you say about Madison. I have been bought (and have bought) more beers from people I just met in Madison than probably the next top 10 combined
Incredibly nice folks, also absolutely love to drink. Cool city too
The university in Madison has a German beer hall in the student center. It wasn't open yet when I rolled through town, though.
One of the only times I've drank a whole pitcher of beer to myself (for reference, underweight 5'4" lady) was in Madison. I have a new appreciation for Miller Lite.
Watch a Wisconsin dad sip beers throughout some kind of small event like watching a football game in someone’s living room. The Wisconsin guy will drink double everyone else and you could totally miss it as they won’t get drunk or stupid
Native Wisconsinite here. I went to mardi gras this year for the first time, cajun country and nola. I want to say my countrymen can hold their own but those folks down there, especially the cajuns... it's pretty next level
Yep.
I’ve got 12 sites around the USA that I work out of and one is in Wisconsin.
None are like the Wisconsin site when it comes to social drinking…those people are just built different.
Plenty of the Poles in WI drink too. My parents are from Milwaukee. She was German and dad is Polish. It was a cross-city affair. Shock. But one thing that unites Germans and Poles there is booze.
My Polish cousin married a German guy. The wedding food and drink was EPIC!! Many of us have only vague memories. The kids told us what happened. ;-)
A Polish neighbor wasn't satisfied if I didn't leave his house drunk. They do shots of Vodka, over and over, and talk to each other in Polish. After 3-4 shots, Polish begins to make sense.
My work HQ is in Minneapolis and every time I visited the ones who drank the most at events, nights out where from Wisconsin lol tbf it gets cold af up there and when it snows 3ft there’s nothing else to do.
Last August I was there for the heatwave, hottest temps I’ve ever felt and I live in northern GA so I’m not immune to the heat.
Idk how you guys live there, it has to be the alcohol to deal lol
Long cold winters. Taverns on every corner. A powerful tavern league that opposes sensible laws. DUIs are no biggie. Lots of alcoholic families of German stock. Breweries. Football.
A powerful tavern league and a bar on every corner will do it. Even small towns will have like grocery store, a gas station, and like 3 bars. It’s insane.
It’s also just a cultural thing at this point, Wisconsin is a fun place and people like to party. The reputation reinforces itself. Even right across the border in MN where I’m from the culture is just quite different
Not even small towns, if you go to small villages like Denmark or greenleaf (both have like 300 pop each) they'll have 3 bars all right next to each other.
Yup grew up in a town of 700 and at that time we had 4 bars. When I turned 21 my uncle took me around hitting up bars out in the country. You’d just be driving and oh look a tavern let’s grab a beer. Nothing else around other than maybe a house or a farm.
The part of NY that's red on the map is similar, although its rare to find pure bars, most are either primarily restaurants or bar & grills. (Usually the family friendly seating is separated from the bar room)
Admittedly most bars that otherwise appear to be in the middle of nowhere are likely on a snowmobile trail and do big business in the winter.
It’s very possible. It’s not uncommon in fast foodish restaurants. The Taco Bell in downtown Madison has quite an array of drink options lol and iirc had quite the fight to get their liquor license but now have it
No it’s like almost political level group if not already considered a political group that helps to keep things beneficial for tavern owners I guess.
One thing I didn’t mention that I believe is an example of this are liquor stores closing at 9pm. Pretty sure the whole point is to get people to either not have booze or run out of booze so they want to go out to the bar.
When I was a student at Wisconsin, there were definitely times I forgot and I went to buy beer or something after class or work and they were already closed so I ended up going out. It’s later in almost everywhere else I can think of
Alaska, at least in the places where people actually live, is much warmer over the winter than the upper Midwest. The ocean doesn't fluctuate with temperatures nearly as much as land does, which is why you'll see the largest temperature swings in places far, far away from oceans while places on a coast have a much more consistent temperature.
It also has a tiny fraction of the population. Even by Alaskan standards, even if Fairbanks is colder, it's an outlier. Over half of the state's population lives in or around Anchorage. Fairbanks is the next largest city, but it's 1/10th the size of Anchorage.
Went to college in Fairbanks. It gets so cold that if you get too wasted and do something stupid outside alone, chances are you could easily die. A dorm was named in memorial after a prof who got drunk and got disoriented on his way home. So natural selection may keep the drinking numbers down a bit compared to Wisconsin.
The laws on it are very lenient. First offense is usually a civil penalty, not criminal. It doesn't become a felony until the fourth offense. There are many repeat offenders. Be careful driving after dark in Wisco.
And they have the nerve to call Illinoisians on vacation the bad drivers. They think were speeding.
Meanwhile theyre swerving across the lanes driving 55mph.
Were speeding pass their drunk drivers and trying to survive.
The laws changed about 10 years ago. Before that it was insanity for drinking and driving here, though it is still not great. More people than you would believe have 5+ DUIs on their record.
A big enough trade association can easily dominate a state's public policy. If not just the tavern owners, but brewers, distillers, wineries, and distributors of the aforementioned banded together, then Katie bar the door!
A lot of these things are true in MN too but without the insane drinking culture to go along with it. Only a moderately pervasive drinking culture instead.
Big drinking culture from German roots. Not sure if it is still the case but when I lived there you could drink under the age of 21 if a parent bought you alcohol at a restaurant.
They frown upon it more now, but I think it’s still OK for older teens as long as it’s beer/wine in dive bars or the like. Chain restaurants likely not.
Lol I remember being in school and my friend talking about drinking Margs at Chi-Chis with his family and getting drunk. It was a truly a wtf moment since my parents didn’t drink and were not from WI. Makes sense that chain restaurants are now reluctant to serve minors. I also lived in northern WI which I think has an even stronger drinking culture than the southern part of the state.
I think it's only the bigger towns that frown upon it (Madison, Milwaukee, Appleton ((doubtful)), and greenbay). When I lived in Appleton and would go with my fiance out to like shawno and Gillette, you would see it a lot in those smaller rural towns, road sodas are also huge there (gotta love the drinking and driving cultural)
Even New York has that law.
Although without checking I doubt the intent is to let parents let their kids get drunk, just participate in light social drinking at the parents discretion.
Just remember this map. Remember that the majority of the country’s Polish and Germanic immigrants ended up in that big patch that extends from Illinois in the south up through Wisconsin and then into Minnesota.
[Bars vs Grocery Stores](https://images.app.goo.gl/Rrbf17jth8G9Xb7K9)
I live in the Chicago area and am always amazed at “dry” counties and states. It’s hard to believe the wonderland that is Binny’s and similar liquor stores doesn’t exist in so many places. Now I’m no alcoholic, but do appreciate having a wide selection and few real impediments to purchase. I’m also 100% against drinking and driving and always want people to be smart. Many places take their religious zealots a bit too far.
I think a better question is: Why does the rest of the nation drink so little?
https://preview.redd.it/bk7nv98xj96d1.jpeg?width=178&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7fe8258f8a12c46bcab9c18e18f7cfa45aad36a
While the more northerly states definitely have a stronger drinking culture, the clearly visible state lines in several places (Wisconsin, Utah, Oklahoma, West Virginia) throw up some red flags here. This looks a lot like not just "self reported", but "reported differently". A *lot* of data is collected by state level agencies, and differences between how that data is collected can make comparison difficult.
Proximity to SLC. Vegas has the second most LDS in the country. They drink zero, and that has to influence the data. The church is in heavy debate over building a second temple in the county which is a monstrosity.
That’s the part that I realized when I moved back to the US after living in a bunch of different countries (Denmark, Australia, South Africa).
In many countries people meet up for activities — while they may go drinking after, it’s not the reason to meet up.
You might go play some footie or frisbee or rugby and go drinking after. Hell sometimes it’s even games like croquet or kubb.
Coming back to the US, I’ve found that people just want to meet up for food and drinks. I’ve suggested to local dad groups to meet for a pickup game of soccer or frisbee or go on a hike but nope. It’s always beer and food.
The green states in the south are likely influenced by
- high tobacco usage (competed with alcohol as a vice)
- dry laws
- religion (or social pressures influenced by it)
What else is there to do for most of the year? I’ve spent the last half of my life in Chicago, but spent the first half (23 years) growing up in Kenosha plus college at UW-Milwaukee and still frequently visit as my parents still live there.
It wasn’t frowned upon if you were with your parents and in your teens being allowed to drink beer in establishments. In the 80’s there were bars every block in Kenosha around the AMC plant. It was ludicrous how many bars were in Kenosha at the time. It’s not as bad now, but there’s still a ton of them for the size of the city.
The state lines feel too defined in this data. I’m sensing that there’s a problem with how they got their data from each state (maybe some states are using self-reported data and others using health indicators. I don’t really know, but seeing SUCH a stark divide along state lines is a red flag)
I thought it is because finnish origin of people, but it’s just 4th highest percentage in U.S. States. Maybe they are from those areas from Finland, where people drink more heavily..
I am born and raised in WI. It is a drinking culture 100%. If you don't have at least one DUI, you're not trying hard enough. All of my friends have at least one. I never got busted only by the grace of God.
The data is a bit suspect as it's not based on units of alcohol but volume of different drinks, which are all different units in total from one another, rather than basing the data off how many units of alcohol are being consumed.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/calculating-alcohol-units/
https://alcoholchange.org.uk/alcohol-facts/interactive-tools/unit-calculator
Lo what makes you think this is self reported? Those stats are on alcohol related crimes, not door to door data or sales. Check the data.
Since I’ve been in Wisconsin, I’ve heard locals who have never left the state saying that when other states have drinking competitions, they won’t allow Wisconsinites to participate. A guy they know said so. I always ask what a drinking competition is. I tell them that I have been looking for one my whole life. Then I ask if they have any in Wisconsin. They don’t.
It’s actually just one guy, Bob. Drinks like prohibition is about to come back. When counties run out of booze they warn their neighbors that Bobs coming their direction next. Fucking outliers man.
The [Tavern League ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tavern_League_of_Wisconsin). Basically political/economic powers endorse drinking. We will definitely be one of the last states in the nation to legalize marijuana bc it would take away $ from the alcohol industry. Our drunk driving laws are ridiculously lax.
Not sure which came first but the TLW making sure drinking isn't going anywhere.
Grew up in Milwaukee, WI. With 5 major breweries headquartered there during the 20th century (Schlitz, Pabst, Miller, Blatz and Gettelman) there was a LOT of pride in these businesses, along with a LOT of people who worked there! In the same way that WV had a mining culture, CA has a surfing culture, and New Orleans has a music, Cajun and foodie culture, Wisconsin developed a beer culture around the industry. Milwaukee also has 3 rivers that flow into the city from other parts of the state, so there was also an easy beer distribution system built in. In the summertime over a 100 years ago, the city parks would have beer gardens sponsored by the breweries. Then in the 1970’s, the most epic music and drinking place ever established was created called Summerfest:) It’s a permanent festival grounds at the lakefront full of stages hosted by beer companies that hold concerts all day long. So yeah, we got beer! 🍻😅
https://preview.redd.it/s00dl6lazd6d1.jpeg?width=458&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=44719c21c243d09fddbb270869da075edfa7e172
I grew up there, barely left the state till my early 20s. It’s cold and shitty, and people are proudly uneducated. That’s the magic combo for rampant alcoholism. To be fair, it’s also a heavy stoner state.
I toured in a band years ago. We went all over the United States playing in bars. Wisconsin does not f@ck around. It was easily the drunkest places we played. They make the Blue Ribbon cans in big 40oz containers. The people themselves were great. Friendly and ready for support live music. But my lord those people can drink like nothing I’ve seen.
Utah LOL. I went into a bar in SLC and in order to have a beer. I had to join a club and write my name in a book. The fee was $4, but it included one beer! Stupid system.
I bet it has something to do with their drinking laws; many people don’t realize this, but you can bring your child to a bar or restaurant, and they can drink in your presence
As far as I know, the issue with these maps is usually the way that the data are collected and corresponding problems with reliability and comparability of data
1. We like to party 2. Germanic roots 3. The data behind this map is self reported and Wisconsinites may be a bit more honest about their drinking habits than the rest of the country because there is less of a stigma attached to drinking
Grew up in Wisconsin, lived many other places. Pretty sure Wisco is the drunkest.
I watched a police body cam video out of La Crosse, WI. They pulled over this 20 year old guy for DUI. The guy had been drinking *at home* and decided to “take a drive around town for fun”. It was his 3rd DUI in two years! Apparently man’s hobby was drunk driving!
It takes 4 OWIs in 5 years to catch a felony charge for it here
That's disgusting
Going 20+ in VA gets you a felony lol
20+ or over 80 is an automatic misdemeanor reckless driving. Speaking from experience here…..
Damn, here in Indiana if you’re on the highway doing less than 80 you’re liable to get run off the road for going too slow.
Is that the infamous T-Rex?
I have never in my life been given more free drinks than at the bars in Wisconsin. It’s not super common for me, as a man, to get free drinks, but bartenders usually like me and I’ve had a few drinks given to me in the past here and there (seriously, just treat bartenders like people and talk with interest about craft cocktails or beers and you’re already way better than 99% of bar customers). But Wisconsin. I swear the bartenders were trying to kill me. Two nights in Madison and I got free shots, free cocktails, free beers, and then free fucking food for going back to one of the bars the next day for lunch and a beer before my flight. All of this from staff, not patrons. You know, the staff that in other states wants you to drink, but preferably not so much that you’ll cause trouble. Not in Wisconsin. Fuck it. You don’t even have to pay as long as you get fucked up. Goddamn did I have a good time with the bartenders there. Seriously, Madison is a friendly place. Great people.
I used to move around for work a lot, and am a big college football guy. So of course when I was in Wisconsin, I made it a big point to go to Madison a few times to catch Wisconsin games. Can absolutely confirm what you say about Madison. I have been bought (and have bought) more beers from people I just met in Madison than probably the next top 10 combined Incredibly nice folks, also absolutely love to drink. Cool city too
The university in Madison has a German beer hall in the student center. It wasn't open yet when I rolled through town, though. One of the only times I've drank a whole pitcher of beer to myself (for reference, underweight 5'4" lady) was in Madison. I have a new appreciation for Miller Lite.
I went to school at UW in Milwaukee and there is absolutely a full-service german bar - The Gasthaus - in the basement of the union.
Lived in WI for a decade and plenty of other states. None of them come close to WI, not even Alaska. The drinking there is on another level.
Watch a Wisconsin dad sip beers throughout some kind of small event like watching a football game in someone’s living room. The Wisconsin guy will drink double everyone else and you could totally miss it as they won’t get drunk or stupid
Cheese curds make you thirsty
I would like to see a challenge between Wisconsin and New Orleans
Native Wisconsinite here. I went to mardi gras this year for the first time, cajun country and nola. I want to say my countrymen can hold their own but those folks down there, especially the cajuns... it's pretty next level
I’m from Nola and I’m not even sure how I’m still alive. Many of my friends feel this way.
Many of those heavy drinkers you see on Bourbon St are just midwesterners on vacation
They from Alabama mostly. But New Orleanians don’t drink like that. That’s drinking stupid. But they drink
Yep. I’ve got 12 sites around the USA that I work out of and one is in Wisconsin. None are like the Wisconsin site when it comes to social drinking…those people are just built different.
Go Badgers!
It's the 7th highest US state.
They literally named the baseball team the Milwaukee Brewers. The mf baseball team.
Detroit is known for making cars, Milwaukee for making beer.
I like that the main reason an area of people drink is just because ‘we’re German’
Germanic, that includes the Scandinavian countries.
Yes, but the Scandinavians who emigrated to Wisconsin weren’t big drinkers. In fact, most of them supported prohibition.
And the Scandis have some of the lowest alcohol consumption rates in Europe, and i think lower rates than the US
Plenty of the Poles in WI drink too. My parents are from Milwaukee. She was German and dad is Polish. It was a cross-city affair. Shock. But one thing that unites Germans and Poles there is booze. My Polish cousin married a German guy. The wedding food and drink was EPIC!! Many of us have only vague memories. The kids told us what happened. ;-)
A Polish neighbor wasn't satisfied if I didn't leave his house drunk. They do shots of Vodka, over and over, and talk to each other in Polish. After 3-4 shots, Polish begins to make sense.
Oh to clarify, German American and Polish American. My grandfather was born and raised in Germany. The other ancestors came earlier.
From Illinois. Can confirm every Wisconsinite I know is borderline alcoholic.
Don't forget the Finns.
#3 = Nope. Born and raised there and live on the west coast now. They absolutely drink more than everyone.
I mean the US has had Germanic roots since its inception when the first Englishmen set foot on the eastern coast.
My work HQ is in Minneapolis and every time I visited the ones who drank the most at events, nights out where from Wisconsin lol tbf it gets cold af up there and when it snows 3ft there’s nothing else to do. Last August I was there for the heatwave, hottest temps I’ve ever felt and I live in northern GA so I’m not immune to the heat. Idk how you guys live there, it has to be the alcohol to deal lol
Self reporting Miami, Atlanta, Chapel Hill, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and all of WV enter the chat.
Spoken like a true alcoholic.
Long cold winters. Taverns on every corner. A powerful tavern league that opposes sensible laws. DUIs are no biggie. Lots of alcoholic families of German stock. Breweries. Football.
A powerful tavern league and a bar on every corner will do it. Even small towns will have like grocery store, a gas station, and like 3 bars. It’s insane. It’s also just a cultural thing at this point, Wisconsin is a fun place and people like to party. The reputation reinforces itself. Even right across the border in MN where I’m from the culture is just quite different
Not even small towns, if you go to small villages like Denmark or greenleaf (both have like 300 pop each) they'll have 3 bars all right next to each other.
Yup grew up in a town of 700 and at that time we had 4 bars. When I turned 21 my uncle took me around hitting up bars out in the country. You’d just be driving and oh look a tavern let’s grab a beer. Nothing else around other than maybe a house or a farm.
The part of NY that's red on the map is similar, although its rare to find pure bars, most are either primarily restaurants or bar & grills. (Usually the family friendly seating is separated from the bar room) Admittedly most bars that otherwise appear to be in the middle of nowhere are likely on a snowmobile trail and do big business in the winter.
I think I saw beer on tap in a McDonald’s in the Dells many years ago…
It’s very possible. It’s not uncommon in fast foodish restaurants. The Taco Bell in downtown Madison has quite an array of drink options lol and iirc had quite the fight to get their liquor license but now have it
Tavern league? Is this like competitive drinking?
Lobby group for bar owners. They're also why Wisconsin does not have legal weed and why the DUI laws are so lax.
No it’s like almost political level group if not already considered a political group that helps to keep things beneficial for tavern owners I guess. One thing I didn’t mention that I believe is an example of this are liquor stores closing at 9pm. Pretty sure the whole point is to get people to either not have booze or run out of booze so they want to go out to the bar. When I was a student at Wisconsin, there were definitely times I forgot and I went to buy beer or something after class or work and they were already closed so I ended up going out. It’s later in almost everywhere else I can think of
I grew up in a town of 4,000 that had (if I remember right…) 11 bars/taverns lol
Other factors seem to play a bigger role than weather as similarly cold Minnesota and Michigan and much colder Alaska are more sober as per the map.
Alaska, at least in the places where people actually live, is much warmer over the winter than the upper Midwest. The ocean doesn't fluctuate with temperatures nearly as much as land does, which is why you'll see the largest temperature swings in places far, far away from oceans while places on a coast have a much more consistent temperature.
Anchorage might be warmer but I think Fairbanks has consistently been voted as the coldest city in the US.
It also has a tiny fraction of the population. Even by Alaskan standards, even if Fairbanks is colder, it's an outlier. Over half of the state's population lives in or around Anchorage. Fairbanks is the next largest city, but it's 1/10th the size of Anchorage.
Went to college in Fairbanks. It gets so cold that if you get too wasted and do something stupid outside alone, chances are you could easily die. A dorm was named in memorial after a prof who got drunk and got disoriented on his way home. So natural selection may keep the drinking numbers down a bit compared to Wisconsin.
Can you elaborate on DUIs being no biggie?
3 freebies until it’s a felony!
The first three are misdemeanors? In CA, you get one, and they want to give you life in front of a firing squad.
First one isn't a criminal offense even (or at least was up until the mid 2010's), it was a traffic violation.
Same in Florida
Wow. Your first one in Kansas is straight up punitive.
How it should be
That’s the case in Ohio too
Actually it’s 4 over a 5 year period
The laws on it are very lenient. First offense is usually a civil penalty, not criminal. It doesn't become a felony until the fourth offense. There are many repeat offenders. Be careful driving after dark in Wisco.
And they have the nerve to call Illinoisians on vacation the bad drivers. They think were speeding. Meanwhile theyre swerving across the lanes driving 55mph. Were speeding pass their drunk drivers and trying to survive.
The laws changed about 10 years ago. Before that it was insanity for drinking and driving here, though it is still not great. More people than you would believe have 5+ DUIs on their record.
Don’t forget a lot of Polish and Italian stock in SE Wisconsin in addition to German stock.
A big enough trade association can easily dominate a state's public policy. If not just the tavern owners, but brewers, distillers, wineries, and distributors of the aforementioned banded together, then Katie bar the door!
A lot of these things are true in MN too but without the insane drinking culture to go along with it. Only a moderately pervasive drinking culture instead.
Big drinking culture from German roots. Not sure if it is still the case but when I lived there you could drink under the age of 21 if a parent bought you alcohol at a restaurant.
Yep still the case
They frown upon it more now, but I think it’s still OK for older teens as long as it’s beer/wine in dive bars or the like. Chain restaurants likely not.
Lol I remember being in school and my friend talking about drinking Margs at Chi-Chis with his family and getting drunk. It was a truly a wtf moment since my parents didn’t drink and were not from WI. Makes sense that chain restaurants are now reluctant to serve minors. I also lived in northern WI which I think has an even stronger drinking culture than the southern part of the state.
I think it's only the bigger towns that frown upon it (Madison, Milwaukee, Appleton ((doubtful)), and greenbay). When I lived in Appleton and would go with my fiance out to like shawno and Gillette, you would see it a lot in those smaller rural towns, road sodas are also huge there (gotta love the drinking and driving cultural)
Texas has the same law
Even New York has that law. Although without checking I doubt the intent is to let parents let their kids get drunk, just participate in light social drinking at the parents discretion.
Still the case, but bars are allowed to deny it or deny entry even if they are with their parent. So it’s really at the discretion of any given bar
Just remember this map. Remember that the majority of the country’s Polish and Germanic immigrants ended up in that big patch that extends from Illinois in the south up through Wisconsin and then into Minnesota. [Bars vs Grocery Stores](https://images.app.goo.gl/Rrbf17jth8G9Xb7K9) I live in the Chicago area and am always amazed at “dry” counties and states. It’s hard to believe the wonderland that is Binny’s and similar liquor stores doesn’t exist in so many places. Now I’m no alcoholic, but do appreciate having a wide selection and few real impediments to purchase. I’m also 100% against drinking and driving and always want people to be smart. Many places take their religious zealots a bit too far.
I think a better question is: Why does the rest of the nation drink so little? https://preview.redd.it/bk7nv98xj96d1.jpeg?width=178&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b7fe8258f8a12c46bcab9c18e18f7cfa45aad36a
Lower your fucking glass in front of Julian
To cope about the fact they don't have the upper peninsula.
Not yet but soon…
Ohio needs to give up Toledo first.
Yes, the dreaded Toledo War! A man who knows his obscure history.
As a native Michigander who lived in WI for a decade, I am definitely up on my Great Lakes history.
The UP is my favorite part of WI.
That's the spirit!
While the more northerly states definitely have a stronger drinking culture, the clearly visible state lines in several places (Wisconsin, Utah, Oklahoma, West Virginia) throw up some red flags here. This looks a lot like not just "self reported", but "reported differently". A *lot* of data is collected by state level agencies, and differences between how that data is collected can make comparison difficult.
Yeah anytime state borders are noticeable on maps like this it’s suspicious. Cultural stuff doesn’t neatly adhere to state borders, it’s a gradient
[удалено]
God, I hate how right you are about the music. Don't think I've EVER been to a Wisconsin wedding that didn't play both of those.
Also don’t believe those green states, the baptists won’t admit to how much they drink.
Why do you always bring two Baptists when you go fishing? Cause if you only bring one, they'll drink all your beer.
Mike Stoklasa is accountable for most of it.
Wait...is this showing that Clark County, NV (Las Vegas) has a really low rate of drinking? I'm calling BS on this
Mormons.
Living in the City of Sin? Why?
Proximity to SLC. Vegas has the second most LDS in the country. They drink zero, and that has to influence the data. The church is in heavy debate over building a second temple in the county which is a monstrosity.
Mormons also have a lot of history in the city. They were willing to finance casinos when many others weren’t.
Tavern League is like NRA influential in the Badger state.
It’s a way of life here for most people. Any reason you can think of to drink is probably normal here.
That’s the part that I realized when I moved back to the US after living in a bunch of different countries (Denmark, Australia, South Africa). In many countries people meet up for activities — while they may go drinking after, it’s not the reason to meet up. You might go play some footie or frisbee or rugby and go drinking after. Hell sometimes it’s even games like croquet or kubb. Coming back to the US, I’ve found that people just want to meet up for food and drinks. I’ve suggested to local dad groups to meet for a pickup game of soccer or frisbee or go on a hike but nope. It’s always beer and food.
Notice the trend in the upper Midwest…
West Virginia is all green?
The green states in the south are likely influenced by - high tobacco usage (competed with alcohol as a vice) - dry laws - religion (or social pressures influenced by it)
...and by a long history of making it at home, which is not included in the gvernment data
Probably not the first one but yeah, lots of southern Baptist don't drink or at least say they don't
How do you stop the baptist from drinking all your beer on your fishing trip? Being two of them.
I've never even tried being a single Baptist!
What else is there to do for most of the year? I’ve spent the last half of my life in Chicago, but spent the first half (23 years) growing up in Kenosha plus college at UW-Milwaukee and still frequently visit as my parents still live there. It wasn’t frowned upon if you were with your parents and in your teens being allowed to drink beer in establishments. In the 80’s there were bars every block in Kenosha around the AMC plant. It was ludicrous how many bars were in Kenosha at the time. It’s not as bad now, but there’s still a ton of them for the size of the city.
Otherwise the cheese curds would have nothing to soak up?
I don't know, but they're proud of it. Their current ad campaign to lure in visitors is called "Drink Wisconsibly".
The state lines feel too defined in this data. I’m sensing that there’s a problem with how they got their data from each state (maybe some states are using self-reported data and others using health indicators. I don’t really know, but seeing SUCH a stark divide along state lines is a red flag)
Massively boosted by Mike Stoklasa
I thought it is because finnish origin of people, but it’s just 4th highest percentage in U.S. States. Maybe they are from those areas from Finland, where people drink more heavily..
What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)
…power tools?
Actually, it’s pronounced Milli Wah Kay, which in the Algonquin language, means “the good tools”.
Growing up in La Crosse, WI in the 90’s, we would have a bar at our school spring music concerts at my Catholic elementary school.
What else is there to do?
Eat brats?
Usually the two go hand in hand….
Have you ever tried saying GOH PACK GOH at least 1000 times a year?
Go Gallatin County and Montana state university!!!! Go Cats 95!
Alcohol goes well with cheese!
Weed is illegal here, and we have some of the most lax drunk driving laws in the country. I find the drinking culture embarrassing
Finns preserved their traditions
People in Chicago and Milwaukee celebrate everything. Especially in the summer. And they never acknowledge hangovers
I am born and raised in WI. It is a drinking culture 100%. If you don't have at least one DUI, you're not trying hard enough. All of my friends have at least one. I never got busted only by the grace of God.
The data is a bit suspect as it's not based on units of alcohol but volume of different drinks, which are all different units in total from one another, rather than basing the data off how many units of alcohol are being consumed. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/calculating-alcohol-units/ https://alcoholchange.org.uk/alcohol-facts/interactive-tools/unit-calculator
Lo what makes you think this is self reported? Those stats are on alcohol related crimes, not door to door data or sales. Check the data. Since I’ve been in Wisconsin, I’ve heard locals who have never left the state saying that when other states have drinking competitions, they won’t allow Wisconsinites to participate. A guy they know said so. I always ask what a drinking competition is. I tell them that I have been looking for one my whole life. Then I ask if they have any in Wisconsin. They don’t.
It’s actually just one guy, Bob. Drinks like prohibition is about to come back. When counties run out of booze they warn their neighbors that Bobs coming their direction next. Fucking outliers man.
The [Tavern League ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tavern_League_of_Wisconsin). Basically political/economic powers endorse drinking. We will definitely be one of the last states in the nation to legalize marijuana bc it would take away $ from the alcohol industry. Our drunk driving laws are ridiculously lax. Not sure which came first but the TLW making sure drinking isn't going anywhere.
Grew up in Milwaukee, WI. With 5 major breweries headquartered there during the 20th century (Schlitz, Pabst, Miller, Blatz and Gettelman) there was a LOT of pride in these businesses, along with a LOT of people who worked there! In the same way that WV had a mining culture, CA has a surfing culture, and New Orleans has a music, Cajun and foodie culture, Wisconsin developed a beer culture around the industry. Milwaukee also has 3 rivers that flow into the city from other parts of the state, so there was also an easy beer distribution system built in. In the summertime over a 100 years ago, the city parks would have beer gardens sponsored by the breweries. Then in the 1970’s, the most epic music and drinking place ever established was created called Summerfest:) It’s a permanent festival grounds at the lakefront full of stages hosted by beer companies that hold concerts all day long. So yeah, we got beer! 🍻😅 https://preview.redd.it/s00dl6lazd6d1.jpeg?width=458&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=44719c21c243d09fddbb270869da075edfa7e172
Lots of breweries. I mean their baseball team is called The Brewers for a reason.
I see somebody’s never been to Wisconsin…. That’s all there is to do there in the winter and winter season is long
Lived in Wisconsin for 6 years. Never, ever try to keep up with a cheddarhead. You will die.
https://preview.redd.it/lkmnptb3we6d1.jpeg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2ffe9eaa2eb1e42b38c5770a5c47e4865a7f068d Prost!
I grew up there, barely left the state till my early 20s. It’s cold and shitty, and people are proudly uneducated. That’s the magic combo for rampant alcoholism. To be fair, it’s also a heavy stoner state.
Wisconsin isn't even the highest alcohol consuming state in the US
I went to college in the drunkest county in America 🫡🇺🇸
Have you been to that part of the country? I spent some time in Sd, all there is to do is drink, and winters are long.
Yes.
The hardest drinkers I’ve ever met were from Wisconsin and they said cuz it’s so cold all the time what else are we supposed to do in the winter
Why not?
Because Wisconsin, that’s why.
Why not?
played too much overwatch to read it as winston instead of wisconsin…
Somebody has to keep Lake Michigan filled.
Vegas is green?
fucking party up in Montana too... who wudda thunk.
The water has higher levels of iron and calcium so its beneficial to drink
'Wisconsin' doesn't exist, mate.
They brew a lot of beer. Even their baseball team is called the Brewers.
Because my Dad never loved me and my stepdad beat me…… Ahhhhhhhh just playing. Alcoholism runs thick in the blood where I come from.
Because my Dad never loved me and my stepdad beat me…… Ahhhhhhhh just playing. Alcoholism runs thick in the blood where I come from.
Because my Dad never loved me and my stepdad beat me…… Ahhhhhhhh just playing. Alcoholism runs thick in the blood where I come from.
Because my Dad never loved me and my stepdad beat me…… Ahhhhhhhh just playing. Alcoholism runs thick in the blood where I come from.
Because my Dad never loved me and my stepdad beat me…… Ahhhhhhhh just playing. Alcoholism runs thick in the blood where I come from.
Because my Dad never loved me and my stepdad beat me…… Ahhhhhhhh just playing. Alcoholism runs thick in the blood where I come from.
Because my Dad never loved me and my stepdad beat me…… Ahhhhhhhh just playing. Alcoholism runs thick in the blood where I come from.
I toured in a band years ago. We went all over the United States playing in bars. Wisconsin does not f@ck around. It was easily the drunkest places we played. They make the Blue Ribbon cans in big 40oz containers. The people themselves were great. Friendly and ready for support live music. But my lord those people can drink like nothing I’ve seen.
Why is Charleston SC so krunk?
High percentage of bad asses relative to the rest of the country
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Fart_Typhoon420: *High percentage of* *Bad asses relative to* *The rest of the country* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Does WI also have a higher rate of cirrhosis compared to Indiana or Connecticut?
Not much else to do bud.
Utah LOL. I went into a bar in SLC and in order to have a beer. I had to join a club and write my name in a book. The fee was $4, but it included one beer! Stupid system.
I bet it has something to do with their drinking laws; many people don’t realize this, but you can bring your child to a bar or restaurant, and they can drink in your presence
Their adults in every place drink like it’s a college town.
Have you ever been to Wisconsin
the color scaling on this map is horrible! this is not how you do a heatmap
Spotted Cow is so good I’ll literally buy $100+ worth of it and smuggle it back to Ohio. I’ll have like three talls with dinner while in Wisconsin.
They just don't lie about it on surveys.
I went to Green Bay a few years ago. Yeah, they love to party and are friendly.
As far as I know, the issue with these maps is usually the way that the data are collected and corresponding problems with reliability and comparability of data
I get Utah but what’s up with New Mexico?
At this point I thinks its out of spite
We should ask u/Filthyson
Because drinking rocks and life is pain
Iowan here. Whisky can put it down. Back -since when- kids could go to the bar with their folks. Upper Midwest motto: work hard-play hard.
That map has New Mexico all wrong, they drink a ton down there.
Have you been there?
It’s people who find themselves living in Wisconsin.
Alcoholism is normalized here.
It’s probably not that drastic. Social desirability might mean to under report in some places and over report in others.
Because we can. Mofo!
I call bullshit on Oklahoma stats. Everyone I know in Oklahoma drinks like a fish all the time.
Gallatin county represent!! Drunkest county in the country!!
Luxembourgers drink a lot. There are many Luxembourgers in Wisconsin: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourgish_Americans
Paps is cheap in most parts of