SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Saint Patrick’s Day is certainly known for being a big drinking holiday. Aside from the traditional corned beef, cabbage, and green clothing, a pint of brew is a popular way to celebrate the Irish holiday.

But how many pints are consumed ruing the night’s festivities? Turns out, it’s a lot.

St. Patrick’s Day is reportedly the most popular holiday for beer drinking and ranks third among the most popular drinking days up there with New Year’s Eve and Mardi Gras.

According to WalletHub, 174% more beer and 153% more spirits are sold on St. Patrick’s Day than usual. Even more outstanding is over 13 million pints of Guinness, a popular Irish stout, will be drunk worldwide on St. Patrick’s Day. That’s equal to over 1.6 million gallons or nearly two and half Olympic-sized swimming pools.

That 13 million number belongs to Guinness alone. WalletHub says on average, a person will drink about 4.2 drinks on St. Patrick’s Day. 36% of men reportedly admitted to binge drinking on St. Patrick’s Day.

Another WalletHub Study says Salt Lake City isn’t the best city to celebrate the Irish holiday in, but it also isn’t the worst. In a study of the 200 largest cities in the United States, Salt Lake City ranked 80 in the best places to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day for 2023.

Data from the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (DABS) shows Utahns might like celebrating drinking on the holiday as well. According to the DABS Year in Retail report for the 2022 Fiscal Year, March was the second-largest month for Utah alcohol sales. DABS reported earning $56.62 million in sales, behind only the month of December.

In WalletHub’s study, Salt Lake City ranked well for the overall cost of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, including average beer prices and affordable Irish Pubs. The Utah State capital also ranked higher than the average for its St. Patrick’s Day traditions such as its parades, events, and access to bars.

With all the celebrating though, it’s important to remain safe. The Utah Highway Patrol said it would be ramping up DUI enforcement on St. Patrick’s Day. So far in 2023, Utah has had 152 crashes and three fatalities relating to alcohol, according to crash data from the UHP.

UHP recommends planning before heading out the door and celebrating. Either set a designated driver or plan on using a taxi or rideshare service such as Uber or Lyft to get home.