HOPIQ SCORE
The Top 50 Beers
43 beers from 7 breweries · Ranked by style authenticity — not marketing
These rankings are dynamic. As more people rate, match and like beers on hopIQ, community signals will increasingly shape the results alongside style authenticity and award recognition.
These beers rank highest on the hopIQ Score — a nightly-updated weighting of style authenticity, award history, and community signals. Filter by style family or country to narrow the list; the top-3 podium and full ranking below always reflect the current day’s data.
How this ranking works
The hopIQ Score weights style authenticity (80%), user engagement (10%), notability (10%), and award history. Active, in-production beers only — non-alcoholic excluded. No paid placement — order follows the data alone. Ranking spans 43 beers from 7 breweries.
Top 5 of 39
Hitachino Nest Yuzu LagerBest Overall
ABV
5.5%
Bitterness
Lightly bitter
Colour
pale gold 3
Clean lager base infused with yuzu citrus — tart, floral and refreshing. A distinctly Japanese take on craft lager that bridges tradition and innovation. Ranked here for style-fit against the Lager reference and award history in Lager-specific categories.
Sapporo Fuyumonogatari
ABV
5.5%
Bitterness
Lightly bitter
Colour
pale gold 4
Sapporo's winter seasonal, released every year since 1988 and presented by the brewery as Japan's first seasonal beer. The recipe combines barley and wheat malt with rice, maize and starch at a higher malt share than the everyday range,… Ranked here for style-fit against the Lager reference and award history in Lager-specific categories.
Asahi The Bitter-ist
ABV
6%
Bitterness
Lightly bitter
Colour
pale gold 4
Asahi The Bitter-ist arrived in April 2025 as Asahi's first new standard beer brand in seven years, built around bitterness. Part of the hopping uses Talus from the United States, a first for the brewery, together with German Hersbrucker,… Ranked here for style-fit against the Lager reference and award history in Lager-specific categories.
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Sapporo Black Label
ABV
5%
Bitterness
Lightly bitter
Colour
pale gold 4
The core draft lager of Sapporo in Japan, filtered rather than pasteurised and brewed from barley malt with rice, maize and starch. Part of the malt comes from a barley line bred without the enzyme that makes beer taste stale. It pours… Ranked here for style-fit against the Lager reference and award history in Lager-specific categories.
5
Sapporo Lager
ABV
5%
Bitterness
Lightly bitter
Colour
pale gold 4
First sold in 1877 by the Kaitakushi brewery, this is the oldest Japanese beer brand still on the market, nicknamed Akaboshi after the red star on its label. Unlike the draft range it is heat-treated, which gives it a rounder, fuller body.… Ranked here for style-fit against the Lager reference and award history in Lager-specific categories.
Ranks 6–10
6
Sapporo Reserve
An all-malt lager brewed for more body and intensity than the flagship. It pours golden to light amber with a steady bead. Toasted malt and gentle caramel sweetness dominate the nose, with a grainy note and a faint white-grape fruitiness.… Ranked here for style-fit against the Lager reference and award history in Lager-specific categories.
7
Sapporo Nanamaru
An unpasteurised lager launched across Japan in 2023 and fermented out to very little residual sugar, brewed from barley malt, hops and added sugars. A share of fine aroma hops and a larger aroma hop addition, introduced with a later… Ranked here for style-fit against the Lager reference and award history in Lager-specific categories.
8
Sapporo Classic
Launched in 1985 for sale only in Hokkaido and brewed at the company's brewery in Eniwa, Classic is an unpasteurised lager made from malt alone, without the rice and maize of the national range. It is hopped only with fine aroma varieties,… Ranked here for style-fit against the Lager reference and award history in Lager-specific categories.
9
Asahi Premium Nama Beer Jukusen
Asahi Premium Nama Beer Jukusen has been Asahi's premium draught since 2004 and is poured mainly on tap or from bottles in restaurants. Three hop types, for bitterness, aroma and fine aroma, go in at three separate points, and maturation… Ranked here for style-fit against the Lager reference and award history in Lager-specific categories.
10
Asahi Gold
Asahi Gold was launched in April 2026 as the brewery's first new all-malt standard beer brand in nine years and its first new brand after the 2025 cyberattack. It is brewed from malt and hops only, using around one and a half times the… Ranked here for style-fit against the Lager reference and award history in Lager-specific categories.
The taste landscape
Of the 39 top beers, 20 lean malt-forward and 10 lean hop-forward.