The 31 Best Beers To Drink Right Now

Few beers can claim a history that dates back to the 13th century, but the perfect Pilsner Urquell is just that legendary. It’s crafted in Plzen in the Czech Republic, a city that’s famous for its soft water, which gives a nice, round finish to what would become the classic Czech pilsner. Made since 1842, Pilsner Urquell is easily the style’s best known and best loved iteration.

Bell’s Brewery in Michigan became the forefather of the American approach to wheat beers with the Oberon Ale. American wheat ales don’t have the banana and clove flavors of German versions, instead playing up the wheaty-ness with subtle fruit aromas and a touch of spice from the hops. Bell’s Oberon is so popular that when it’s rolled out each spring on Oberon Day, breweries, bars, and shops that stock the beer celebrate with events and parties.

Mexican lagers are a warm-weather classic, and few have stood the test of time like Modelo Especial. This iconic favorite is a shining example of what makes Mexican lagers great. Mexican brewing traditions shaped the Vienna lager style into something uniquely its own—subtly toasty and caramel-forward with a dry finish that keeps is crisp. If you’re not having a Modelo Especial at your barbecues, you’re doing it wrong.

Another refreshing easy drinker is Miller High Life. Having been around since 1903, this lager is a key piece of American beer history. Even if you’re not old enough to have seen the commercials firsthand, you remember the 1970s-era jingle, “If you’ve got the time, we’ve got the beer.” High Life is just so clean and simple that even craft beer and cocktail pros count it as their mainstream brew of choice, and its “Champagne of Beers” identity is an endearing play on the high-low concept. From daytime gatherings to late night bar visits, Miller High Life is a familiar comfort.

The India Pale Ale style was born out of England sending their beer to India with lots of hops that acted as preservatives in the 1800s. Today, it’s one of the most popular styles in the United States because of its big, bold flavors, and Cigar City’s Jai Alai is one of the most popular versions of that style. Named for a game invented in the Basque region of Spain, Jai Alai has in previous years been the best-selling craft six-pack in American grocery stores.

If it’s something more straightforward you’re after, Newcastle Brown Ale is like the brown ale poster child. The English beer has been brewed since 1927, and it’s a can’t-fail classic you can count on when you see it on the menu. Brewed with pale and crystal malts, it’s light and bready with touches of nuttiness and dried fruit.

The Weihenstephan Abbey Brewery is one of the world’s oldest, founded in 1040. Its Hefe Weissbier is brimming with history—and German wheat beer’s flavors of banana and clove. It’s also a total trail-blazer as far as Germany’s beers are concerned. The country’s 1516 law requires German beer to be made only from water, hops, and barley (and later, when fermentation was understood, yeast)…until Georg Schneider acquired a dispensation in 1872 and commercial breweries began to make wheat beers.

Today, Belgium’s beer scene is richly varied between independent breweries and Trappist breweries (abbeys that make beer), producing beautiful interpretations of iconic styles. More recently, as in during the 20th century, Belgian brewers sought to compete with German and Czech lagers with lighter styles, and the blonde ale was born. The Leffe Blonde Ale is the most classic, widely known and loved version of the effervescent, grainy-sweet, orange-y and lemon-y and sometimes a little spicy style.

Sierra Nevada is a titan of American beer, having helped put craft beer on the map in 1979. You probably know them for their Pale Ale, a beer approachable enough for craft novices to love and nuanced enough to have garnered cult status among brewers. Its piney, citrusy hop character paved the way for America’s love affair with the IPA, while the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale remains a staple in its own right.

Pennsylvania’s Victory Brewing makes one of America’s favorite takes on the Belgian tripel, which is usually fruity and spicy and on the stronger side, at 7.5-9.5% ABV. Golden Monkey packs notes of banana, clove, orange, and earthy hops, with a dry finish. Made since 1997, it set the bar for American breweries to try their hands at Belgian beers.

Hailing from Michigan, this award-winning IPA gets its name from the Two Hearted River in the Upper Peninsula, which boasts great fishing and supposedly inspired Ernest Hemingway’s story “Big Two-Hearted River.” The beer is dry hopped with 100 percent Centennial hops and has notes of grapefruit and pine.

Guinness has been making the dark stuff in Dublin for nearly 250 years, and Guinness Draught Stout wrote the book on stouts, laying the groundwork for smooth and roasty dark beers with dreamy, creamy foam. This particular stout has always been a favorite at pubs. A brew that’s inspired lessons on how to pour it should be taken seriously and thoroughly enjoyed.

Schöfferhofer’s Grapefruit Hefeweizen is a fresh—and refreshing—take on the essential German wheat beer for anyone who enjoys a fruity beer. The brewery made the first grapefruit hefeweizen in 2007. This beer is half hefeweizen, half grapefruit, so those banana, clove, and bread flavors are brightened with tart citrus. While delicious on its own, it’s also a great base for beer cocktails.

No list of best beers would be complete without the Anchor Steam Beer, considered the first American craft beer by experts. Anchor Brewing first brewed their steam beer, otherwise known as a California Common, in San Francisco in 1896. They’re still doing so today, making it one of the longest running commercial examples of an original American beer style. Called “steam beers,” Commons are malty yet light and smooth amber brews. Anchor’s Steam is every bit as refreshing today as it was nearly 125 years ago.

California’s Lagunitas Brewing Co. is famous for its IPA, but the brewery has another flagship beer that fans love. Lagunitas takes the American wheat ale one step further with the Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale, a beer that brings the wheat style into bolder territory with a hoppy twist.

Let’s talk West Coast vs. New England IPAs: West Coast IPAs are closer to the original form of the style. They’re bright with a dry finish and most importantly, a bouquet of herbal, citrusy, bitter hop notes. More recently, New England IPAs came to represent a less bitter iteration of the style. They’re hazy and juicy, often with lots of tropical fruit character and a smoothie-like quality. The Sip of Sunshine IPA from Vermont brewery Lawson’s Finest Liquids is the best of both worlds. It’s often classified as a New England IPA, or NEIPA, because of its tropical characteristics, but it has the floral hop quality and bitter punch of a West Coast take.

While the Daisy Cutter Pale Ale from Half Acre Beer Company is a craft kid compared to the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, it’s still got a respectable decade under its belt. Ten years basically makes a beer a wise and revered elder in the craft brewing world. This Chicago-brewed pale ale has all the dank hoppiness of a more assertive IPA, but at a lighter, smoother clip, making it a more crushable source of hop flavor.

Chimay’s Grande Reserve is for when you’re feeling a little fancy. Popping that cork is the beer equivalent of popping a nice bottle of champagne. The Grande Reserve is a Belgian Strong Ale, which boasts a bouquet of caramel, toast, plum, fig, raisin, pepper, and perfume notes with a boozy warmth. Chimay is also an example of a Belgian Trappist brewery—one of 14 in the entire world.

The Ithaca Flower Power IPA is another form of West Coast meets Northeast for India Pale Ales. Brewer Jeff O’Neil had worked at several breweries in the Bay Area, and he brought his expertise in creating a pitch perfect West Coast IPA to New York when he went to work for Ithaca Beer Co. Flower Power is considered one of the most important beers in the industry because of how it introduced a West Coast–style done right to the East.

Ommegang’s Three Philosophers is a special treat. It’s a blend of two styles: a kriek and a quadrupel. A kriek is a lambic (more on this below) made with cherries, and a quadrupel is a strong, dark Belgian ale with caramel, molasses, bread, and pepper flavors. The combo is a lovely American twist on a Belgian classic that smells and tastes like brown sugar, dark fruit, chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and of course, cherries.