BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

We’re number 48, but it sure seems like we try harder than most states on the right days.

The Beer institute has released its annual survey of states that drank the most beer in 2011, and New Jersey barely charted in the number 48 position.

According to NJ.com, New Jersey residents drank 22.3 gallons of beer in 2011. But the national average is 28.3 gallons. The Beer Institute survey divides the amount of beer sold in a state by its number of citizens legally old enough to drink.

The Fix reports that Delaware is the closest state to our area near the top of the beer-drinking list, coming in at number 10. The state may pick up a lot of people from other areas because it has no sales tax.

Number 9 was Nebraska, and 8 through 2 included Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, Nevada, South Dakota, Montana, and North Dakota. And the number 1 beer drinking state in the nation for 2011 according to the survey is… New Hampshire.

According to 24/7 Wall St., New Hampshire had the highest per-capita beer consumption in 2011 at 43 gallons, and 18.7 percent are considered binge drinkers. Beer Institute Chief Economist Lester Jones believes anyone around the border of New Hampshire will probably buy their alcohol there for the 5 percent or 6 percent tax savings. New Hampshire liquor stores often see customers from Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine, he says.

On the lower end of the spectrum, each resident purchased only 21.8 gallons of beer in 2011 in Connecticut. In Utah, the total was only 19.2 gallons.