Which tipples are the toast of the town?

Anthony Brown, a server at Hoxton Tavern, draws a coffee stout draught beer for a customer.
Anthony Brown, a server at Hoxton Tavern, draws a coffee stout draught beer for a customer.

Glasses are raised nightly throughout the city. Some people hold mugs filled with frothy craft beers or traditional domestics. Others grasp wine and cocktails in stemware or dram whisky from tumblers. The differences speak to the diverse tastes in Jefferson City as people gather for liquid warmth as winter draws to a close.

Alcohol is big business. In 2014, Americans consumed 7.7 billion gallons of alcohol, making up 15 percent of all beverages, according to the Beverage Information Group (BIG). It made up 60 percent of national beverage revenues - far exceeding juices' 6 percent - raking in $211.6 billion. Almost half of the sales were for beer, 37 percent were liquor and 15 percent wine. Of the spirits, vodka led sales at 37 percent and whisky followed at 24 percent. American whisky experienced the largest sales growth in 2015, increasing spirits sales 2.3 percent and gaining ground on beer's dominance.

In 2015, on-premise alcohol sales - such as at bars and restaurants - declined for the third consecutive year, experiencing the largest decrease to date at 2.6 percent. Liquor revenues increased by 2.5 percent, despite volume decreasing .3 percent. Beer sales decreased 3 percent by volume and 1.6 percent in revenue. BIG said these trends show consumers are purchasing more high-quality beverages, drinking fewer but more expensive drinks at the bar.

Brand loyalty is declining as sundry craft beers enter the market. "The craft beer boom shows no sign of slowing, with consumers choosing local brews more often than national brands," BIG reported.

Fechtel Beverage provides beer to 79 establishments in Jefferson City. Andy Fechtel said the market is split into three segments. Fifty percent of what the distributor sells is premium domestic beer like Bud Light, Miller Lite and Coors Light. Another 25 percent comes from below premium domestics like Stag, Key Stone and Miller High Life. The remaining 25 percent is split between imports, such as Corona and Heineken, and craft beers.

"Corona is going absolutely crazy right now," Fechtel said. "We just can't keep a lid on its growth."

Fechtel said the craft beer market is still expanding, though its growth has slowed from a couple years ago. These include regional brands like Boulevard and Mother's brewing companies and area locals like Broadway and Logboat brewing companies in Columbia. Ten years ago, this segment was dominated by larger brands like Sam Adams, but the shop local movement has given small operations a big boost.

Fechtel said the rise in local operations harkens back to the early days of America, when every city had a brewery. "Everything is cyclical," he said. "There's a decent amount of locally produced brews like down in Prison Brews. Craft is still growing. It isn't growing as fast as it was a few years ago, but still growing at a pretty fast clip."

Jay Cheshire, a manager at J. Pfenny's Sports Grill & Pub, said demand for craft beer is increasing more than any other beverage - especially nearby Columbia brews like Logboat Brewery's. He said they are most popular among young drinkers. Men in his father's generation still usually stick to domestic standbys. Despite the rising trend toward more local brews, the old guard remains strong at J. Pfenny's. Cheshire said Bud Light and Miller Lite still sell about as much as all of the craft beers combined. "The older guys know what they like," he said.

It's a similar story down the block at High Street Pub, where the two best sellers are Bud Light and an Amaretto, orange juice and draft beer shot concoction known as "the lunch box." Bartender Stacy Libey agreed older drinkers often stick to their domestic favorite, while younger drinkers more often ask for IPAs and microbrews. But, she said the cheap lunch box has been what keeps young crowds coming in.

"We do a lot of lunch boxes," she said. "We sell more of those in a week than probably anything, especially in the weekend evenings. There's been nights where we go through (four gallons) of orange juice."

For microbrewery fans, Prison Brews sells many more of its craft beers than domestics. Owner Debbie Brown said sales have increased every year since the 2008 opening. But the most popular option, a pale wheat ale known as I Ain't Your Honey Wheat, tastes the most like traditional domestic selections.

"(We sell) way more of the honey wheat than any of the others, because it's a lighter beer, and still in Jefferson City, people haven't been exposed to the craft beers as long as a lot of other areas in the country," she said.

It depends on the season as to what their second best-seller is. When it's warm outside, cream ale wins, but cold weather brings in the hop-loving Indian pale ale (IPA) drinkers, which is a cult favorite among some patrons. "Once you've acquired a taste for the IPA, you really like the IPA," Brown said. "People really like that hoppyness."

Although some drinking trends - like the craft beer movement - have been divided along generational lines, Fechtel said that is often too simple an explanation and prefers to think there is the right beer for every occasion. "If you're going out on a Friday night and only going to have one or two, people buy craft beer that may be a little more expensive or higher in alcohol content, because they know they are just having one or two," he said. "In the summertime, when it's 100 degrees out and you're riding around in your boat at the Lake of the Ozarks, you don't necessarily want a 10 percent bourbon barrel-aged stout, you are going to go for something a little light and a little more refreshing."

Fechtel admits the national craft beer movement seems more intriguing to younger drinkers, which he links to other contemporary consumer habits, like looking for more variety and flavors. "The thing I always like to talk about is (the younger) generation grew up drinking flavored water. If you look at the Oreo aisle, there's 50 kinds of Oreos. It's really happening in every consumer category, and it's being mirrored through beer."

If spirits are your preference, cocktails reign at Sapphire Lounge, the bar with a sprawling city view atop DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Jefferson City. This is where the national trend toward higher-priced liquor is evident. Vacationers regularly come up from their hotel rooms to drink Manhattans and Makers Mark old fashions.

"I think anyone on vacation tends to drink stuff that they normally wouldn't," bartender Jackie Phillips said. "At home, they would probably grab a Bud Light. Here, they would probably do a tropical martini."

Phillips said politicians often come from the Capitol for high-end liquors like single malt scotches. The women tend more toward vodkas and martinis or wines, the most popular of which are cabernets and pinot grigios. But, she said she has served women who like whisky neat, too.

As the name suggests, wines are the mainstay at Capitol City CORK and Provisions, a boutique restaurant and bar where rosé is the first choice for most of the vintage consumers. During the winter, owner Jami Wade said darker wines like cabernet and pinot noir are popular, but patrons have begun ordering pinot grigio much more often than when she opened for business six years ago.

Wade said her regular clientele includes young professionals, visiting lobbyists and well-traveled retirees. It is a rare non-brewery Jefferson City watering hole where domestic beers don't measure up. Instead, Columbia's Logboat, and the international Italian lager, Peroni, reign in popularity.

"I think I'm the only one in town that sells Peroni," she said. "People come here for Peroni, but I'm also selling a ton of Logboat Brewery. I think people are really wanting to support local breweries which I'm happy about, because they are great people, and we have a personal relationship with them. It's easy to promote a beer when you know the owners, they are good people and they make good beer."