13 best beer countries

Originally posted by Alen

Originally posted by Leighton

Originally posted by t0rin0

Originally posted by Theydon_Bois
Just about to say ... Belgium at #1!

Move along ...

What I’ll say in defense of Belgium (and Germany for that matter) is that while they don’t have as many new breweries and styles as some of the other countries, at least the majority of what they make is pretty solid. The US may have 4000 breweries but 3800 of them are mediocre at best.

Eh, I’d say the good:bad ratio is probably similar in Belgium versus the US. Belgium is just so much smaller that in absolute terms, yeah, it’s much less, but in relative terms it’s more comparable.

Some of the breweries in Belgium are older than this country itself, so the list that was made isn’t just about how many craft beers a country makes or the beer scene. I"m sure it included tradition, history, influence in the world of craft beer, etc...

Originally posted by garethjv

Originally posted by JK

Originally posted by SarkyNorthener

Originally posted by JK
Czech Republic is top five, so surely in the top 13. No way Ireland should be on that list and Norway is very questionable.

Yes Ireland is a mystery. Maybe I am missing something.

They make Guinness. The thickest, heaviest, darkest, and strongest beer in the world.

Is that a joke, or do you not get out much?

Belgium,USA,England,Germany,Ireland though "my beautiful country" is nearly number one and the biggest beer place in the world for the last twenty years with Denmark right in that catagory.

The Americans are making the best beer in the world, no question.German beer IMO is the most distinct and quality controlled. Belgians have the most preserved beer culture. After that its all coin flips.

Originally posted by capricho4
The Americans are making the best beer in the world, no question.German beer IMO is the most distinct and quality controlled. Belgians have the most preserved beer culture. After that its all coin flips.

Originally posted by Theydon_Bois

Originally posted by capricho4
The Americans are making the best beer in the world, no question.German beer IMO is the most distinct and quality controlled. Belgians have the most preserved beer culture. After that its all coin flips.

Coin flips ???

You been to England in the last year or so ?

Then why am I still serving Brits Stella, and Budweiser here in the states? Surely if the culture is booming as you say it is, they would be inclined to see what we are serving here. Yuengling is a big introduction for British here. All that said remember it is of my opinion from how I see the industry moving.

Coin is nailed to the floor with the Queens head glaring at you !!!

Originally posted by capricho4

Originally posted by Theydon_Bois

Originally posted by capricho4
The Americans are making the best beer in the world, no question.German beer IMO is the most distinct and quality controlled. Belgians have the most preserved beer culture. After that its all coin flips.

Coin flips ???

You been to England in the last year or so ?

Then why am I still serving Brits Stella, and Budweiser here in the states? Surely if the culture is booming as you say it is, they would be inclined to see what we are serving here. Yuengling is a big introduction for British here. All that said remember it is of my opinion from how I see the industry moving.

Coin is nailed to the floor with the Queens head glaring at you !!!

From my visits, based on personal experiences and taste, and trying to be fair regarding recent visits, I’m not including places I’ve had a lot of beer from but not visited (like Japan), or places I’ve not been recently enough to get a fair sense of the scene (like Spain).


1. Germany. The unfiltered, naturally-carbonated Franconian lagers, when they are "on", they are some of the finest beers in the world.
2. Belgium. It’s all about the hoppy pale Belgian ales, De la Senne and De Ranke are two of the best brewers in the world and them alone make Belgium worth visiting. I will mention Westvleteren for their hoppy Blond, even though the 8 and 12 are still appreciated (not world-beater to me like so many believe). Rustic saisons and tripels and of course the unique lambic scene, which I’m not much into anymore, but during the last visit it was nice to try fresh and sweet Cantillons from hand pump before all of the sugar had been fermented out.
3. New Zealand. I’m the outlier here. I absolutely love their emerging experimental brewing scene, and by experimental I mean hop-focused and malt-focused, they don’t get carried away with fruits, spices, kombucha, cucumber and other nonsense, they experiment with core ingredients which makes this purist very happy. The hop character to me is a unique blend of western / tropical with a stronger sense of their noble lineage than you get with American strains. From my experiences the hops appear to be used fresher and with more care for where they fit in the recipe, so there’s not a lot of beers with old, stinky-cheesy hops, there’s not a lot of resin and grass character in their NZ Pale Ales and NZ Pilsner, and only occasionally do you find the onion and diesel fumes character which is more common in hoppy American beers. They embrace flameout and late boil additions to get you that salivatingly juicy / oily hop character with balanced (not excessive) bitterness. Then the styles, they are all about showcasing hops and malt with precise minimalism, a lot of single hop beers (controlling the experiment as we scientists say), giving the drinker a clearer impression of exactly what each hop can contribute to a recipe. You get varied malt origin as well, ales and lager using home grown New Zealand malt, some using American malt, some German and many using one of my favorite malts, English Maris Otter. Like your pale ales fruity-juicy somewhere between noble and tropical, but with savory-toasty-toffee-like English Maris Otter? NZ is the place to drink.
4. France. Low gravity hoppy Belgian-ish beers. Thiriez is a top 10 world brewer, and Page 24 is a personal favorite as well. Cuvee des Jonquilles has a special place for me. Not a huge beer scene but what’s there is in line with my tastes. Would probably rank lower with more visits as the newness wears off.
5. USA. There’s good and bad, a lot of variety but the newness of the scene lacks focus. Not worth going into detail here since the scene is well understood. The signal-to-noise ratio is ever decreasing but there are enough gems out there that I’m happy.
6. Italy. To me, the Italian brewing scene as a whole doesn’t have good definition, it’s a mix of old and new world, Belgian and American influences, sometimes in the same recipe (like Session IPA made with Saison yeast). There’s a lot of experimental and “extreme” strong beer, which I’m not into, but the Italian drinkers also have a better appreciation for balanced, flavorful lagers than most European drinking cultures. From a recent visit it seems the new hotness is American hops, but most examples I tried were old (cheesy, onion-y, etc.), which makes me think that Italian brewers are getting the oldest, least-desirable American hops on the market (speculation). I understand this will not sit well with my Italian friends but my exploration of the scene was not thorough, and I know that I am more sensitive to the flavor and aroma character of old hops than most people. This is not an indictment of the scene, but I see some similarities with the US, with a lot of new brewers coming to market while still figuring out their focus. One highlight for me was the gypsy brewer Stavio, who produced a Rauchbier and Heller Bock that speak to Franconia. The good thing about the Italian scene is that beer is everywhere, it’s no longer niche, there are hundreds of restaurants and shops in Rome alone which cater to beer drinkers. The import scene is possibly the best in the world, consisting of a wide range of Belgian, German and American products from a seemingly endless number of producers, and Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fa, and it’s sister restaurant Bir&Fud, could be considered two of the best drinking establishments in the world. (I originally had Italy further down the list but I think for an outsider, in terms of quality and variety, it is one of the best countries in the

7. Norway (really Oslo). Haand is a favorite, though not everything they touch turns to gold, they do make some very nice hoppy sessionable beers, and their fresh batches of Dark Force and Norwegian Wood are uniquely classic in the world. Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri makes a variety of American, English and German-focused styles, some work and some don’t but the effort is appreciated. The bar and restaurant scene is pleasant and for an outsider there’s enough variety that I can’t imagine someone visiting Oslo not finding the newness (and generally high quality) enjoyable.
8. Finland (really Helsinki). Clean German and English-style beers from Bryggeri Helsinki and Suomenlinnan Panimo for the purists, with a vibrant import scene full of American and Belgian and French and sour rarities for the bottle chasers.
9. Czech Republic. As much as I love a hoppy Kvasnicove Svetly, the truly superb ones are few and far between, though many are decent to drinkable, but I don’t feel the strong draw to return to Cesky given the prevalence of diacetyl, and the fact that indoor smoking is widely accepted, which is a huge turn-off for non-smoking beer travelers.
10. Sweden (based on Malmo and Stockholm). Akkurat scores big points for their worldwide selection, from the uber rare sours to the just-as-uber-rare Franconian lagers. One of the few places in the world with a deep cellar menu that’s actually current. In general the beer quality was high, not the sort of economy to allow new brewers to learn as they go. Beer scene is well-integrated with the food scene. If only they could ditch the state monopoly stores. And if Narke were more widely available, not just for their Stormaktsporter variants but for their bottled gotlandsdricka as well.
11. Iceland. Limited number of breweries but the few at the top have good game. Part of my love for the scene is how young and exotic it is, and I’m sure the newness will wear off the more I visit, but I have enjoyed very much the Borg and Olvisholt products and even Kaldi has upped their game with the Czech-style lagers. The locals and the tourists are embracing the scene and it’s only going to get better. State monopoly stores are a big minus but they don’t stock most of the good beer anyways.
12. Denmark. Hard for me to place on the list because the interest is almost entirely in strong western beer with little love given to English or German styles. At Mikkeller bar I end up drinking Orval because nothing else seems to work (resinous American-hopped pilsners and "Belgian ales" are the alternative if you’re not into 18% Blueberry Barley Wine). Shout out to Papsoe and Amager and their stellar rendition of Franconian Kellerbier, Sinner Series Greed, showing there is hope for the country :)

99. Lithuania. DMS everywhere. It’s not fair to call it a flaw because it’s a desirable characteristic to a lot of drinkers. In my limited time in Vilnius there was only one of thirty beers that was even drinkable, and I understand that freshness is incredibly important to quality, these fragile beers don’t hold up well, don’t travel well, and often times the barkeeps don’t put effort into preserving the state of the beer, so you have a lot of low carbonated, dirty-tasting beer with what we westerners consider major flaws (from the more recognizable diacetyl and DMS, which respectively manifest as butter and carrot / cabbage / cement mix off notes, to more strange and gag-inducing qualities such as concord grape jelly, hen house, fried chicken breading and ketchup). I really want to like the Lithuanian farmhouse brewing scene but I fear I’ll never go back.