

Beer Advocate just released their latest list of the Top Beers on Planet Earth, at least according to their ratings. Just for fun, I’ve also looked through them and pulled out some interesting statistics about the list.

In the Top 100, there are beers from 44 breweries. Those breweries are from seven countries, with the U.S. having by far the most. In fact, 71 of the beers on the list are American, and are located in just 13 states. California, with 23 beers has the most. Here’s how they shake out:

Countries in Top 100

U.S. = 71 Belgium = 11 Germany = 7 UK = 5 Canada = 4 Czech = 1 Ireland = 1

U.S. States in Top 100

California = 23 Delaware = 10 Colorado = 6 Michigan = 6 Pennsylvania = 6 Massachusetts = 5 Oregon = 5 New York = 4 Indiana = 2 Illinois = 1 Maryland = 1 New Hampshire = 1 Ohio = 1

The styles represented by the list are around 30, though I simplified and combined a few from Beer Advocate’s list. Around 14 styles have only one beer on the list. The top 15 break down as follows.

Most Popular Beer Styles in Top 100

Imperial Stout = 14 Imperial IPA = 10 India Pale Ale = 10 Stout = 6 Belgian Strong Dark Ale = 5 Porter = 5 American Strong Ale = 4 Brown Ale = 4 Pale Ale = 4 Tripel = 4 Belgian Strong Pale Ale = 3 Doppelbock = 3 Hefeweizen = 3 Pilsener = 3 Quadrupel = 3 Herb/Spice Beer = 2

Nearly 60% (58) are above 5% a.b.v. but below 9%. 32 of the beers are 9% or above and ten of them are 5% and under. That’s far more middle of the road than I expected and it is quite different if you look at just the top 25. For the top 25 beers, 15 (or 60%) are extreme beers over 9% and the remaining 10 (0r 40%) are all over 5% but below 9%. The Top 25 also represent only 12 beer styles from 19 different breweries in 4 countries, shaking out like so:

Countries in Top 25

U.S. = 15 Belgium = 5 Germany = 3 Canada = 2

U.S. States in Top 25

California = 8 Michigan = 4 Illinois = 1 Indiana = 1 Pennsylvania = 1

Most Popular Beer Styles in the Top 25

Imperial Stout = 6 Imperial IPA = 5 American IPA = 3 Belgian Strong Dark Ale = 2 Quadrupel = 2

The top 50, naturally, is somewhat in the middle, with extreme beers and middle-strength beers nearly equally represented, with only 1 below 5%. At fifty, only one more nation is represented, bringing the total to five. The highest canned craft beer came in at #30, with only two canned beers making the list, both of them from Oskar Blues. I don’t know what any of this ultimately means, but I thought it would be fun and interesting to take apart the beers that Beer Advocate users rated the highest and see what patterns emerged.

Obviously, the high number of American beers is a product of having been founded here and I presume the greatest number of users are still either here or at least in English-speaking countries, which may limit access to some beers. That may also be a factor in certain breweries making the list multiple times as a quick scan of them shows that the majority have fairly wide distribution throughout the U.S. The breweries having the most beers on the Top 100 list is below.

Breweries in the Top 100

Dogfish Head = 10 Stone Brewing = 8 Sierra Nevada Brewing = 7 Rogue Ales = 5 Samuel Adams = 5 Victory Brewing = 5 Bell’s Brewery = 4 Anchor Brewing = 3 Chimay = 3 Great Divide Brewing = 3 Ommegang = 3 Samuel Smith = 3 Unibroue = 3 Bear Republic Brewing = 2 Founder’s Brewing = 2 Oskar Blues = 2 Paulaner = 2 Rochefort = 2 Spaten = 2 Three Floyds =2

And here’s the original list:

Beer Advocate’s Top 100 Beers On Planet Earth