Is Beer Going to Beat Out Wine?

As beer soars in popularity, could wine’s superiority be coming to an end?

In the world of beverages, wine has always been seen as the epitome of taste, class, and sophistication, a beverage to be shared with fine cuisine and subject to a precise etiquette to scare off the unworthy.

Meanwhile, beer has always been simple: a common beverage drunk at sporting events, fraternity parties, or as a reward for hard labor. Surely, the two could never be seen as equals – have you ever seen a beer-pong game played with Cabernet Sauvignon? Wine is revered; beer is an afterthought. Or is it?

The times might be changing. Over at Wine-Searcher, beer has made an appearance in our list of Most Searched-for Wines.

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout is the beer in question, and it has been a rousing success since its launch in the early 1990s when it became the first Bourbon barrel-aged beer ever brewed. Every year people enter a lottery for their chance to acquire a few bottles, so perhaps it’s no surprise that each November, there is a huge spike in searches for the beer.