Do you know which are the best beers in the world?

Proclaiming the best beer in the world is no easy task. The best… in which style? How do you compare two beers that have nothing to do with each other, like an IPA and a stout? That’s what categories are for. If we parameterize the different types of beer, we can compare similar entries with one another.

This is how competitions work. In beer contests, each judging table tastes different entries within the same category, and after assessing them individually they can determine which one scores highest. For example, the Barcelona Beer Challenge and the World Beer Award publish a list of the best beers in each style.

This, however, does not settle the debate. One might ask whether the winner is truly better than the rest or whether what’s being judged is adherence to a standard. What happens to the genuinely original entries that aim to innovate, go one step further and break style guidelines?

There may not be a single best beer… But there might be a best brewery. The one with the most awards must be better than the rest, right? Or maybe not! Not every beer in the world enters every competition, and not all competitions are equivalent. If we let the gurus guide us, for experts like writer Michael Jackson, Westvleteren 12 is without a doubt one of the best beers in the world.

What if we focus on the end consumer? Apps like RateBeer or Untappd have their own rankings by style and country based on user ratings. At first glance, it seems quite democratic. In both we find “Toppling Goliath Kentucky Brunch” as the overall winner.

It is striking that among the twelve highest-rated beers by users (not necessarily the best), none is below 10% alcohol. And of those twelve, ten are stouts. To avoid this bias we can filter by number of reviews or alcohol content. Clearly there is a bias toward strong and dark beers.

The question becomes more complicated if we take into account the moment of consumption. The best beer in the world is not the same in summer under the blazing sun as it is in winter by a warm stove. Would you really enjoy an imperial stout at noon on the beach? At that moment, a pale lager, cold and low in alcohol, will taste like ambrosia.

If we agree that context matters, then the search for the world’s best beers becomes more complicated. Of course there are objective, measurable parameters, but in the end it’s up to you. What style do you like? When do you drink beer? What are the climate and gastronomy like where you live? Narrowing down these and other questions will bring you closer to your own shortlist. The key is to taste.