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 judges every beer against its style first: it rewards medals from competitions that judge within style categories and deducts points where a beer measurably deviates from its style reference. Community ratings add to that. Non-alcoholic excluded. No paid placement — order follows the data alone. Ranking spans 2989 beers from 192 breweries.
Top 5 of 50
Old AleBest Overall
ABV
4.3%
Bitterness
Lightly bitter
Colour
deep amber 20
A dark, soft and full-bodied ale for the colder months, on cask from October to March. Roasted malts and burnt sugars are laid over Maris Otter barley, with only a light bitterness from aroma hops. The nose is sweet and nutty; the palate… Ranked on fit to the Dark-Beer reference, award history in style-judged competitions and community ratings.
ABV
9.0%
Bitterness
Very bitter
Colour
dark 40
A bottle-conditioned imperial stout at 9.0%, brewed only once every nine months and aged for eighteen. It stands in the tradition of the stouts shipped from England to Russia and the Baltic in the early 1800s. Black, with black coffee and… Ranked on fit to the Stout reference, award history in style-judged competitions and community ratings.
ABV
4.4%
Bitterness
Lightly bitter
Colour
dark 35
Black Gold opens on a nutty roast and coffee, turns sweet with dark fruit and closes dry with a chocolatey finish, a Scottish milk stout at 4.4% ABV. Four malt colours make up the grist. CAMRA named it Champion Winter Beer of Britain in… Ranked on fit to the Stout reference, award history in style-judged competitions and community ratings.
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ABV
4.2%
Bitterness
Noticeably bitter
Colour
golden 8
A golden-straw pale ale that the brewery dates to 2012 and that takes its name from the ocean on its doorstep. American hops provide citrus and tropical fruit on the nose, set against biscuity malt. The palate shows a delicate sweetness… Ranked on fit to the Pale Ale reference, award history in style-judged competitions and community ratings.
5
ABV
6.5%
Bitterness
Noticeably bitter
Colour
deep amber 15
Resinous notes and spikes of citrus meet liquorice, Marsala wine, caramel and spicy orange, and a flicker of dark fruit freshens the finish. The strong ale (6.5%, copper-bronze) was first brewed in 1998 for the brewery's tercentenary,… Ranked on fit to the Strong-Ale reference, award history in style-judged competitions and community ratings.
Ranks 6–10
6
Wildcat layers toffee and malt with dark orange marmalade and honey, then spicy hops that linger into a dry, bitter finish, in a deep amber ale at 5.1% ABV. It is named for the Scottish wildcat, of which as few as 400 may remain. In 2026… Ranked on fit to the Amber-Ale reference, award history in style-judged competitions and community ratings.
7
A strong, black beer at 7.5% based on eighteenth-century recipes, with brown, amber and black malts mixed into pale ale malt. The nose brings coffee, chocolate, leather and liquorice, with treacle toffee and a distant smokiness; the palate… Ranked on fit to the Porter reference, award history in style-judged competitions and community ratings.
8
The flagship of the Cornish brewery, first brewed in 1995 and named after the sandbank at the mouth of the Camel Estuary. An amber ale with an aroma of spicy, resinous hops and sweet roasted malt. On the palate dried fruit meets lightly… Ranked on fit to the Amber-Ale reference, award history in style-judged competitions and community ratings.
9
A traditional barley wine at 7.5%, deep copper in colour and brewed for December. Biscuity malt and rich, vinous fruit are balanced by a strong hop bitterness; the aroma recalls Christmas pudding and wine, and roasted malt adds depth on… Ranked on fit to the Strong-Ale reference, award history in style-judged competitions and community ratings.
10
Started as an autumn seasonal and stayed in the range; sold in bottle and on nitro keg. Lactose adds a smooth sweetness that takes the edge off robust roasted malt and hop bitterness. Dark chocolate leads the aroma, with quieter coffee and… Ranked on fit to the Stout reference, award history in style-judged competitions and community ratings.
The taste landscape
Of the 50 top beers, 22 lean malt-forward and 17 lean hop-forward.