The song is a country ballad about the unexpected loss of someone close. It tells the story of a character who honors the recent passing of a loved one by watching the sunset on the edge of a pier and drinking a beer, which they normally would have done together.^[3]

"Drink a Beer" takes a relatively unique approach to the theme of loss by addressing the "very raw, real emotion" that immediately follows the loss of a loved one rather than focusing on how a person copes in the long term or plans to move on and rebuild.^[4] Like Lee Brice's "I Drive Your Truck," critics and fans have noted that the subject matter of "Drink a Beer" is striking in its contrast to the party connotations of its title.^[4]

The song was well received by music critics, who praised the unprecedented vulnerability in Bryan's delivery. Billy Dukes of Taste of Country described the track as "poignant" and demonstrative of Bryan's ability to connect with an audience,^[5] while Christina Vinson of Taste of Country deemed "Drink a Beer" musically "fantastic" and lyrically "extremely touching".^[2] Roughstock editor Matt Bjorke indicated Bryan's impassioned vocals giving "an air of authenticity to the lyrics" as the reason for the song's effectiveness, and gave the song a four-and-a-half star ranking.^[4] Bjorke also compared it favorably to Miranda Lambert's hit "Over You" in suggesting the song has "the kind of powerful impact" to warrant nods for "Single of the Year" or "Song of the Year".^[4]

In HitFix′s review of Crash My Party, Melinda Newman labelled "Drink a Beer" the strongest track on the album (grading it an A−) while praising the "spare" production and noting that the song "doesn't try to be a tearjerker" and is more effective as a result.^[6]

Billboard and American Songwriter ranked "Drink a Beer" at number one and number six, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Luke Bryan songs.^[7][8]

"Drink a Beer" debuted at number 59 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart dated of November 16, 2013.^[1] It debuted at number 20 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated of November 23, 2013.^[9] It debuted at number 79 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart dated of November 23, 2013.^[10] It debuted at number 97 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart dated of November 23, 2013.^[11] The song reached its one million sales mark in the United States in April 2014.^[12] As of August 2015, it has sold 1,447,000 copies in the U.S.^[13]

The music video (which is Bryan's performance of the song at the 2013 CMA Awards) was directed by Paul Miller and premiered in December 2013.^[14]

Bryan performed "Drink a Beer" at the CMA Awards on November 6, 2013. The performance was dedicated to his late siblings Chris and Kelly.^[2]

Lady Antebellum performed an emotional rendition of the song alongside co-writer Chris Stapleton as a tribute at the 2014 CMT Artists of the Year ceremony, after Bryan was forced to cancel his scheduled performance following the passing of his brother-in-law, Lee. The performance was considered one of the best moments of the show.^[15]