There was a noticeable decline in the demand for beers in the United States this year, as sales for the drink are expected to reach their lowest level in 24 years.

Beer shipments in the U.S. decreased by over 5% during the first nine months of 2023, with sales expected to continue their downfall to their lowest point in over two decades, according to industry tracker Beer Marketer’s Insights. Various factors have contributed to this dilemma, including shifting demands from consumers and a boycott against the once-popular beer brand Bud Light.

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“This is an industry-wide, five-alarm fire,” Craig Purser, president of the National Beer Wholesalers Association, said in October.

The decreasing demand for beer comes as more younger people in the U.S. reach the legal age to drink and are instead drinking alternatives to beer, including spirits A recent survey found that Generation Z consumed the lowest amount of alcohol among adults in the U.S., with just 58% of legal drinking-age respondents saying they had drunk alcohol in the past six months; among this 58%, 87% had drunk spirits of beer, while 56% had drunk actual beer, according to the survey from data firm MRI-Simmons.

Cannabis has also been a contributing factor to the younger generation's shifting demands. Legal sales in the U.S. of the popular drug reached an estimated $29 million this year. Investment banking company TD Cowen has predicted that cannabis will gain an additional 18 million users over the next five years, with alcohol potentially losing ground by 2 million drinkers.

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2023 also saw calls for a boycott against the popular beer Bud Light after a partnership that the drink did with transgender social media star Dylan Mulvaney. Despite happening toward the start of the year, the boycott seems to continue going strong. The beer's sales in stores were down by 28% in the four weeks ending Dec. 9 compared to last year, according to data analyzed by Bump Williams.

In the wake of its partnership with Mulvaney, Bud Light has attempted to reshape its image with various marketing stunts, including sponsoring the Ultimate Fighting Championship company and releasing an ad featuring football legends Emmitt Smith and Peyton Manning. In November, Michel Doukeris, the CEO of Bud Light's parent company Anheuser-Busch, cited a poll that stated 40% of ex-Bud Light consumers were willing to buy the drink again.