Finest Beer Selection 2026: The best beers of the year have been chosen
Consistently high-quality beer across a wide range of styles. To have this recognised for a brewery by an independent, international panel of tasters is arguably one of the industry’s most prestigious accolades. The Kundmüller Brewery from Viereth-Trunstadt in Franconia and the Stiegl Brewery from Salzburg were accordingly proud when, on the evening of 29 June 2026 in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, they were honoured as Breweries of the Year at the Finest Beer Selection 2026. Both breweries achieved the feat of defending their titles from the previous year and securing a place in the Finest Beer Selection 2026 with 15 beers each.
There was also a defending champion among the ‘Beers of the Year 2026’ – the highest-rated beers in the entire competition. The Aventinus Eisbock from Schneider Weisse in Kelheim achieved a world-class score and, with 98 points (on a 100-point scale), was once again crowned ‘National Beer of the Year’ following its 2025 victory. The Sakaikashi Brewery in Kaimachi, Japan, can also celebrate receiving the same top score. The 98 points awarded to its Barrel Aged United Stout earned it the title of ‘International Beer of the Year’. Both beers were honoured with the ‘Weyermann® Award’ for the first time. Alongside Weyermann®, the companies Hopsteiner, Siemens, Krones, Ullrich Anlagenbau, Rastal and Winterhalter also played a key role in the success of the tasting format.
843 beers from 122 breweries around the world were entered this year. The beers that were awarded a Finest Beer Score of 90 or more points by an international panel of experts during the three-day expert tasting held at Doemens in late May have thus made it into the Finest Beer Selection 2026.
Among the award-winning beers are also many beer-based mixed drinks, which were tasted at the Finest Beer Selection for the first time this year and made a successful debut, accounting for just under five per cent of the total entries. The highest score for a beer-based mixed drink – 94 points – was achieved by ‘Schützengarten Ginger Beer Alkoholfrei’ from the Schützengarten Brewery in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Noteworthy this year was the further increase in the number of non-alcoholic beers in the tasting. Just over ten per cent of the beers entered were in this category, reflecting the general trend in the national and international brewing industry. The top entry was the Störtebeker Wild Coast Ale Non-Alcoholic from the Störtebeker Braumanufaktur in Stralsund, which scored 96 points.
