The brewery offsite is aging out - not because anyone is moralizing about drinking, but because the workforce that filled those events doesn't exist anymore. Five data points, three of them from 2024 or 2025, change the conversation from “team vibes” to workforce composition and employer liability. Here's what to bring to your next planning meeting.
The 30-second version
US drinking is at a 90-year low. Nearly half of Gen Z adults have never had a drink. ~8.5% of your team is in active recovery. And your GL policy probably excludes alcohol-served events. The brewery default is no longer the safe default.
Only 54% of US adults still drink
Gallup's annual Consumption Habits poll, released August 2025, reported that 54% of US adults said they drink alcohol - the lowest figure in 90 years of Gallup tracking. The drop is sharpest among adults under 35, where reported drinking has fallen roughly 10 percentage points over the last five years.
For an HR planner, that's the headline: nearly half of the people you're inviting to the brewery offsite are not the audience the format was designed for.
of Gen Z adults have never had a drink
NielsenIQ's 2024 consumer panel reported that 45% of Gen Z adults of legal drinking age (21+) had never consumed an alcoholic beverage. That cohort is your incoming workforce - they will dominate hiring classes through the late 2020s.
When the team event is structured around something they've never done and don't plan to start, the event isn't inclusive - it's a quiet test of who fits in.
“No level of alcohol consumption is safe”
The World Health Organization's January 2023 statement, published in The Lancet Public Health, concluded that no level of alcohol consumption is safe for human health. We're not citing this to moralize - most employees still drink and that's their call. We're citing it because it's now part of the public-health backdrop your employees grew up reading, and it shapes how they think about an employer-sponsored bar tab.
of employed adults are in active recovery
SAMHSA's 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates 8.5% of employed US adults are in active recovery from a substance use disorder.
On a 200-person team, that's roughly 17 colleagues. Almost none of them have told you.
That math, by itself, is reason enough to make sure at least some of your offsites aren't alcohol-centered. Those 17 people don't need to RSVP “sorry, can't make it” to every quarterly happy hour to feel seen.
The insurance footnote nobody reads
Two recurring points from employer-side counsel and insurance writers:
Workers' comp can expand. Coverage may stretch when the employer supplies or sponsors alcohol - an injury on the way home from a sponsored brewery night is more likely to be considered “arising out of employment.”
CGL typically excludes alcohol events. Standard commercial general liability policies often exclude alcohol-served events unless you've added a host-liquor liability rider. If you've sponsored a brewery offsite without checking, that's a 15-minute call to your broker.
None of this is legal advice - check your specific policy and consult your counsel.
What to run instead
You don't have to retire the brewery night entirely
You just need to stop making it the default. Richmond HR teams typically rotate through:
Outdoor activity rentals
Team building activities in Richmond like Nerf battles, kickball, and kayaking. The activity is the activity. See the Nerf format →
Volunteer days
Habitat for Humanity, food banks, park cleanups. Free, inclusive, and easy to message internally.
Cultural / ticketed events
Squirrels games, VMFA, Maymont. Lower energy but works for mixed groups.
Cooking classes & ropes courses
High engagement, $75–150 per person. Compare costs →
The point isn't no-alcohol. The point is: when the activity itself is the bar tab, you're building events for a workforce that's shrinking every hiring cycle.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of US adults still drink alcohol in 2025?
Gallup's August 2025 Consumption Habits poll found that 54% of US adults report drinking alcohol - the lowest figure in 90 years of Gallup tracking. The drop is steepest among adults under 35, where reported drinking has fallen roughly 10 points in five years.
How many Gen Z adults have never had an alcoholic drink?
NielsenIQ's 2024 consumer panel data reports that 45% of Gen Z adults of legal drinking age (21+) have never consumed an alcoholic beverage. That cohort is moving into the workforce now and will dominate hiring classes through the late 2020s.
How many employees are in recovery from substance use?
SAMHSA's 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates 8.5% of employed US adults are in active recovery from a substance use disorder. On a 200-person team, that is roughly 17 colleagues - almost none of whom have disclosed it to HR.
Are employers liable for what happens at a brewery offsite?
Consult counsel and your broker for specifics, but Fisher Phillips and Pie Insurance both flag two recurring issues: (1) workers' compensation exposure can expand when the employer supplies or sponsors alcohol at a work event, and (2) standard commercial general liability policies often exclude alcohol-served events unless the employer has added a host-liquor liability rider. The lowest-friction way to retire that question is an offsite that doesn't involve serving alcohol.
What's a good alternative to a brewery offsite in Richmond?
Richmond HR teams running inclusive offsites typically rotate between outdoor activity rentals (Nerf battles, kickball, kayaking), volunteer days, and ticketed cultural events. The lowest-cost organized option is a Nerf battle rental at about $15/person all-day - see /team-building/not-another-brewery for the format and /team-building for the full comparison.