Gen Z Is Drinking Again: New IWSR Data Upends the Sober Narrative

The “Gen Z doesn’t drink” story just took a hit. New IWSR data suggests younger Americans are catching up to older cohorts on booze, which changes the math for every beverage brand that spent the last three years pivoting to zero-proof.

What the data actually says

Generation Z now drinks about as much alcohol as the rest of the legal drinking age population, according to a new report from IWSR. The drinking rate among legal age Gen Zers was 74%, up from 66% three years ago, in line with the overall adult drinking rate of 76%.

Millennials and Gen X still post the highest drinking rates, at 81% and 77% respectively. So Gen Z is not leading the category, but the gap has closed enough to matter for volume forecasts.

Why the narrative was wrong

The prevailing take was that zoomers were a generation of moderation. IWSR’s read, via Business Insider, is simpler: “They’re late to the party, they’re not skipping the party.”

Alcohol companies have been able to appeal to younger drinkers through ready-to-drink cocktails and more options for high- or low-alcohol drinks, appealing to a wider variety of occasions. That product mix shift is doing real work.

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Moderation is still the through-line

Across generations, moderation is now the norm, with a majority of drinkers choosing to drink less. Consumers now have on average 3.9 drinks per occasion, versus 4.4 in 2024 and 2025.

Gen Z also has an outsized focus on health and wellness, with 49% of Gen Z respondents most likely to heed government health guidance around alcohol. Translation: more drinkers, fewer drinks per sitting. Volume trends still favor premium and RTD over legacy beer.

Options market and stocks to watch

The read-through hits every major beverage name. A few to keep on the radar:

• BUD (Anheuser-Busch InBev): watch for whether higher Gen Z participation stabilizes beer volumes, or whether the shift into RTDs and spirits continues to pressure the legacy beer mix.
• STZ (Constellation Brands): watch for commentary on younger-drinker uptake of Modelo and its RTD portfolio, which sit at the center of the “late to the party” cohort.
• DEO (Diageo): watch for whether premium spirits and RTDs benefit from Gen Z drinking less per occasion but drinking better.
• TAP (Molson Coors): watch for pressure if beer keeps ceding share to cocktails and hard seltzers among younger drinkers.
• SAM (Boston Beer): watch for RTD and hard-seltzer trends, which are the most exposed to Gen Z’s format preferences.

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