The Most Recommended Beer In 2026 Isn't Miller, Budweiser, Or Stella Artois

Samuel Adams American Light came second in our ranking of light beer brands (where it was narrowly edged out for the top slot by Blue Point Brewing Co.'s Long Island Light). And now, the Boston brand has taken home more plaudits as the top recommended alcohol beverage brand per YouGov's 2026 survey. It scored a remarkable 88.7% recommended score among customers, rocketing it to the top of the beer leaderboard (and raising the question if this sort of success is why the beloved American beer brand is becoming less and less affordable). The wording there is important: Samuel Adams isn't the bestselling, most recognizable, or most frequently considered brand. This recommend score is specifically in response to the question: "Which of the following brands would you recommend to a friend or colleague?" 

Samuel Adams pipped Stella Artois, which secured the third place spot, by a mere 0.2%, but Bud and Miller didn't even crack the top 10 (second place went to Guinness at 88.6%). The survey included around 1,500 U.S. consumers, with 500 identified as Gen Z and Millennials, and 1,000 Gen X and Baby Boomer respondents. To qualify for the survey, respondents had to have bought the brand in the pasta 30 days and 12 months (depending on the sector).

An interesting new dimension becomes clear when you contrast these results with some separate YouGov data, also from 2026, around purchase consideration. That U.S. alcohol beverage rankings calculated the "percentage of respondents who say they would consider a brand the next time they are in the market." In this consideration survey, Samuel Adams only placed sixth among beer brands with 14%. Heineken led the category at 18.4%, followed by Guinness at 16.7% and Budweiser at 15.4%. Samuel Adams was down in 12th place amongst all alcoholic beverage brands, a category once again led by Heineken (with Bailey's and Jack Daniels close behind at 18.3% and 18% respectively). The consideration analysis used data collected from U.S. adults 21 and older between September 1, 2025, and August 31, 2026.

Consideration doesn't mean purchase, of course, but it gauges which beers customers are more likely to buy. This is different from recommending, which may be a higher evaluation of quality and customer loyalty. So while Samuel Adams (which once brewed a beer so strong it's banned in some states) may not occupy quite as much mindshare as big brands like Bud and Heineken when customers are out shopping, the word-of-mouth endorsement rate is very high.