Which celebrity would you want to drink a beer with? Most Americans said… 👵

Thank her for being a friend with a cold beer

We know this is a question that’s always been on your mind, and so does the Beer Institute. If you could have a beer with any celebrity in the world, who would it be?

Quadrant Strategies conducted a survey for the Beer Institute in March to find the answer to that very question, and according to the results, nearly one in five Americans would opt to get a beer with 97-year-old actress Betty White.

“America has spoken, and they’ve said ‘thank you for being a friend’ to Golden Girl Betty White by selecting her as a celebrity they would want to sit down with over a beer,” said Jim McGreevy, President and CEO of the Beer Institute.

The survey, conducted between March 25 and March 29, was provided online to 1,159 American adults 21 and older. Bill Gates, Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey and Lady Gaga were other popular responses for dream dates at the pub.

The survey was launched in honor of National Beer Day on April 7, a holiday that commemorates President Franklin Roosevelt’s legalizing beer on the same day in 1933, before the 21st amendment was ratified.

“Beer brings people together, and on this National Beer Day we toast Betty White, who has entertained multiple generations of Americans with her impeccable comedic timing and enduring charm,” McGreevy said.

Betty’s White Ale

Betty White and beer seem to go well together. Billsburg Brewery in Williamsburg, VA brewed a Betty Wit witbier at one point (now they offer a Betty the Hefe hefeweizen instead), while Eleven Ten Brewing Co. produced a Betty’s White Ale. Old Town Brewhouse in Lewisville, TX made an Old Town Betty White blond ale and Mission Brewery in San Diego, CA once had a Betty White IPA.

Survey respondents were also polled on which notable person from history they’d most enjoy having a beer with. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the reigning answer, with 21% of respondents selecting him over Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Cash, Mark Twain, Steve Jobs, Muhammad Ali, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Babe Ruth, Eleanor Roosevelt, Aretha Franklin and Ernest Hemingway.

Of all the people in the world, living or dead, who would you have a beer with? I’d personally choose Dolly Parton, but speaking as someone who has a Golden Girls tattoo, Betty White is a close second. Thank you for being a friend…

Cover photo by Alan Light on Flickr.