Untappd 2020 Year in Review: Top Beers
Good riddance, 2020. This is the third post in our series of Untappd Year in Review for 2020. Check out the top beer styles of 2020 here, and top cities of 2020 here!
Today, we're taking a look at the top 10 beers of 2020 based on the total number of check-ins globally. Let's jump in!
10. Hazy Little Thing from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co
Hazy Little Thing is aggressively dry-hopped and less filtered, giving this hazy IPA a fruit-forward flavor, modest bitterness, and a smooth finish. It has taken the world by storm and has become one of Sierra Nevada's biggest sellers, earning more check-ins than their flagship Pale Ale.
6.7% ABV
35 IBU
323,090 Ratings
9. Stella Artois
Coming in at number 9, an old classic, Stella Artois. Stella is one of those staple beers that you traditionally see everywhere around the globe on draft. Stella Artois was first brewed as a Christmas beer in Leuven. It was named Stella from the star of Christmas, and Artois after Sebastian Artois, founder of the brewery. It is the optimum premium lager, with its full flavor and clean crisp taste.
5% ABV
24 IBU
629,280 Ratings
8. Miller Lite
Of all the beer brands in the US, this is the top checked in macro brewery beer (from the US) in the light lager category in 2020. It beats out Bud Light and Coors Light in terms of check-in volume with over 81k check-ins in 2020. It fell one spot from 2019, where it was in the 7th spot in terms of check-ins. Fun fact, Miller Lite contains 96 calories per 12-ounce serving; Guinness contains 125. To capitalize on the craft beer movement, Miller released three new Lite formulas in 2008: an amber, a blonde ale, and a wheat beer. It was called the Miller Lite Brewers Collection but it didn't stick around for very long.
4.2% ABV
10 IBU
386,013 Ratings
7. Tripel Karmeliet by Brouwerij Bosteels
Wow, a surprise at 7! This beer was outside the top 10 in 2019, but rose up big time this year! Brewed in Belgium, Tripel Karmeliet is still brewed to an authentic beer recipe from 1679 originating in the former Carmelite monastery in Dendermonde. The name Tripel Karmeliet thus refers both to its origin and its in-bottle re-fermentation. From many trial brews of multigrain tripels carried out at their brewery in the 90s, it appears that the particular historic combination of the 3 kinds of grain still remains the ideal blend.
8.4% ABV
16 IBU
450,626 Ratings
6. Elvis Juice by BrewDog
Another surprise at number 6, with Elvis Juice! This beer was 16th in 2019 and jumped 10 spots in 2020. BrewDog has been killing it this year with their brand and appearing on many of our top and trending beer lists. This beer is an American IPA with a bitter edge that will push your citrus tolerance to the edge; Elvis Juice is loaded with tart pithy grapefruit peel.
6.5% ABV
40 IBU
374,359 Ratings
5. Heineken
Another classic beer, Heineken steps in to the ring at number 5 this year (down 3 spots from 2019). Heineken is a 5% ABV euro pale lager, made by Heineken International since 1873. Its unmistakeable green bottle is a fixture in beer history. This past year, Heineken has been producing a non-alcohlic version of this beer. Do you think there may be a Hard Seltzer version coming down the line?
5% ABV
23 IBU
645,882 Ratings
4. IPA by Lagunitas Brewing Company
Speaking of Heineken, Lagunitas is the second-highest IPA on the 2020 year in review. Lagunitas is 100% owned by Heineken now, which means this beer can be sent all over world for fans to enjoy. Down 1 spot from 3 place in 2019, Lagunitas' IPA was their first seasonal way back in 1995. The recipe was formulated with malt and hops working together to balance it all out.
6.2% ABV
51 IBU
754,913 Ratings
3. Corona Extra by Grupo Modelo
This year, "Corona" has certainly been given a completely different meaning around the world. However, that didn't seem to impact check-ins to Corona Extra, as it jumped from 8th in 2019, to 3rd place in 2020! WOW! It has been trending a while on Untappd in the summertime as a popular beverage, and continues to be checked-in at pretty high rates!
4.6% ABV
18 IBU
623,115 Ratings
2. Punk IPA by BrewDog
BrewDog is the only brewery to have 2 of their beers on the top 10 list for 2020! Up from 4th place in 2019, this beer has been trending on Untappd for quite some time now. We noticed in late October a sky-rocketing of check-ins to the beer most likely due to the online sales offerings from BrewDog. This light and golden classic has been subverted with new world hops to create an explosion of flavour. Bursts of caramel and tropical fruit with an all-out riot of grapefruit, pineapple and lychee, preceded by a spiky bitter finish!
5.2% ABV
35 IBU
522,771 Ratings
1. Guinness Draught by Guinness
AND AT FIRST PLACE, FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW....GUINNESS! Available pretty much everywhere, this beer had the most check-ins with over 164k+ in 2020. Guinness was the first beer to hit over 1 million check-ins on Untappd just a couple years ago and now boasts 2.44M+ check-ins, the most for any beer on Untappd. Check out the Guinness super-fan Chris H, who has over 24k check-ins to ONLY Guinness beers! It's also the most commonly misspelled beer with 13 different variations on Untappd to help users find the beer when searching.
4.2% ABV
45 IBU
854,708 Ratings
Well that is for the highest checked in beers for 2020! Which ones of these have you tried, let us know in the comments or tag me in your check-in to let me know! You can find me on Untappd at @gregavola. Stay tuned for our final Year in Review, Top Breweries, coming soon!
Interested in finding out our predictions for 2021 trends in the bar industry? Check out our new article on the Untappd for Business blog!
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