Gen Z's controversial beer trend leaves people very divided

It seems that, if they’re drinking any of it at all, Gen Z are shaking up the game when it comes to booze.

Widespread reports from across the Western world have it that Gen Z is going sober, with this cultural shift bearing out in Gallup’s 2025 Consumption Habits survey.

While older generations are pulling back on the booze too, younger millennials and Gen Z are leading the way in drinking less alcohol.

However, that doesn’t mean everyone is abstaining, and the Gen Zers that frequent pubs in the same manner as their forefathers have taken to a trend that’s horrifying their elders.

Are those ice cubes in your pint, pal? (krisanapong detraphiphat/Getty Images)

They’re dropping ice cubes in their beer.

Now, that might not seem like the craziest move. After all, an ice-cold beer is one of the quintessential adult treats. Typically you’d get that chill from an ice bucket or the fridge, of course, with ice cubes threatening to dilute the beer or otherwise alter the flavour profile.

According to a survey from LG, 30% of 18 to 35-year-olds claim to prefer a lager over ice. Some are even dropping them in ale, which isn’t typically served with the same chill as its lighter, bubblier cousin.

Even more of those surveyed are putting ice in their red wine, with 35% claiming to do it. Cold red wine!

Thankfully, 44% said ice in wine is ‘an unnecessary, uneducated, or gross choice’, so at least there’s still some sense frequenting our pubs.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Wetherspoons founder Tim Martin said of the trend that ‘nothing is sacred’.

“The old shibboleths are going up in smoke: Guinness, the old man’s drink for a century, has become first choice among Gen Zers, male and female,” he said. “Before that, an Irish bottled cider [Magners] – over ice, for Pete’s sake – became number one in its category in the UK.”

Some have noted that the UK’s recent spate of hot summers – which unsettlingly seems like a trend that’s here to stay – may be behind the rise in ice-chilled booze.

"As summers in the UK and northern Europe heat up, people will need to start adopting coping strategies like staying out of the sun during the middle of the day, and putting ice in their drinks,” said Professor Lisa Schipper from the University of Bonn, per The Independent.

“The irony is of course that while putting ice in drinks might seem like a good coping strategy to deal with heat, production of ice requires energy and refrigeration that in turn emits greenhouse gases, thereby increasing temperatures even more."

(gradyreese/Getty Images)

It’s a worthwhile note but, let’s face it, a couple of ice cubes in a beer aren’t exactly moving the needle on climate change, especially compared to the likes of beef production and billionaire popstars chartering private jets for their weekly shop.

Anyway! Social media users are equal parts for and against the ice cube trend, with one Reddit thread summing up the contention.

“For whatever reason, beer is one of the few beverages that it's considered totally unacceptable to add ice,” posted one Redditor. “I don't get it. Like, if I have a cool beer that needs a little help getting to proper cold (currently drinking an ice cold Sapporo that was lukewarm moments ago), I'm gonna get a big glass and pour the beer slowly over the ice. Is it perfect? No. Is it better than warm? Absolutely.

“I get that it'll water it down a bit, but I would rather have it be cold than not at the right temp, and frankly I don't intend to to let it sit for long enough for it to matter.

“I don't get why it's such a faux pax.”

In response, someone dropped the emphatic: “Good beer is best when it isn't ice cold.”

Another argued: “The vast majority of beer tastes absolutely awful if you water it down even a bit.

“Contrast to something like a cocktail, where watering it down is an essential part of the drink, or a cool drink, where the intense sweetness can honestly use some watering down.

Gen Z have brought Guinness to the front of the nation's beer conversations (Richard I'Anson/Getty Images)

“Beer is brewed to drink as is, not with water in it.”

Others reckon it’s all down to the beer you opt for. “It depends what it is, a low cost beer just for downing on a hot day,” began another reply. “Why not?

“Fosters here in the U.K. is extremely cheap, a really mild refreshing lager that needs to be drunk ice cold. Gets some ice in, a slice of lemon or lime then why not.

“A nice German weissbier or Belgian blonde ale is different. Definitely no ice.”

What’s your take on the trend?