In 1997 , Americans drank an average of 2 gallons ( 7.6 liters ) of alcohol per person . This translates roughly into one six - pack of beer , two glasses of wine and three or four mixed drinks per wee . So while recovering from the excesses at the Anthill Pub [ last night ] after it reopens next fall , we might ponder the human alcohol delydrogenase enzyme , which ceaselessly battles all the beer & wine that we have consumed .