Recession doesn't dry up alcohol sales

State's LCB says revenue up 6.6% at liquor stores.

Liquor sold in Pennsylvania between July 1 and mid-November of this year

Add wine and spirits to the thin catalog of goods that are weathering the recession fairly well.

Liquor sales are up about 5 percent in recent months versus the same period last year, according to statistics from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

That happened even as sales of everything from homes to cars to Christmas gifts -- not to mention beer -- tanked.

Officials were wary of any implication that the poor economy may be spurring liquor sales. Some consumers, though, said people may just be drinking to spite the recession.

''Maybe people are still trying to celebrate regardless of the economy,'' said Leigh Stephens of Allentown, who was looking for champagne in advance of New Year's Eve at the Wine & Spirits store in South Whitehall's Crest Plaza Shopping Center on Monday.

If they're celebrating, they're apparently less willing to do so with a case of beer.

While liquor sales are up, the state is collecting less money off its tax on malt beverages -- i.e. beer -- than it did last year.

Between July 1, when the state's fiscal year began, and the end of November, revenue from the malt beverage tax fell 4.8 percent from the same period last year, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. The tax rate itself hasn't changed, indicating consumption is down.

The LCB, which doesn't track beer sales, has seen far different results when it comes to wine and spirits.

Between July 1 and mid-November, the most recent statistics available, Pennsylvania had $663.5 million worth of liquor sales, LCB figures say.

During the same period last year, the state logged $632.1 million worth of liquor sales.

The increase doesn't mean people are buying more shots at local bars.

Nick Hays, a spokesman for the LCB, said liquor sales at bars and restaurants are essentially flat this year. But sales at state-run liquor stores are up 6.6 percent, he said.

''It's a pretty strong trend that the growth is taking place primarily in retail customers,'' he said.

Patrick Conway, executive director of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, said he isn't surprised liquor sales at restaurants and taverns haven't kept pace with sales at liquor stores.

''The case could be made that when times are tough, maybe people want to buy more alcoholic beverages and drink at home,'' he said.

Treatment experts say more people turn to alcohol -- or other substances -- when the economy sours.

''It is common that as unemployment goes up, so does the abuse of substances,'' said Tim Munsch, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Drug and Alcohol Intake Unit. ''The time is on their hands, the availability, the stress, the boredom.''

He said people who feel they may be drinking too much because of the economy should think about their behavior and determine if they need to seek help.