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The 19 Best Breweries to Watch in 2026
Keep an 👀 out.
Photography courtesy of Magic Muncie, Social Media Manager, Hop Culture and Untappd
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A new year means 365 new days to try new beers and visit breweries we haven’t been to before. Hopefully, you’ve already checked out “The Juiciest,” our ranking of the best breweries, beers, drinking spots, and more from 2025. Since the calendar will officially flip in T-minus thirty-one days, we’re now turning our attention to the year ahead, starting with “The Best Breweries to Watch in 2026.”
This is a unique list for us, one focused on breweries whose beers we had the chance to try once or twice and want to drink more of in the coming days.
Or maybe we saw a lot of buzz about them on Instagram and made a note to reach out and get some beers in the office.
Perhaps we heard about them through friends or the grapevine, adding them to our list of breweries to explore in 2026.
Like last year, we’re pulling data from the Untappd Community Awards, which celebrated the thousands of great breweries and beers rated as best-in-class by Untappd’s eleven million users last year, to drop in what we’re calling “Team Picks!” Shout out to Hop Culture and Untappd Social Media Manager Magic Muncie, who helped put together a lot of the incredible content you’ll read below that includes Untappd data on breweries in this list.
Two years ago, we began including international breweries in our rankings, and we’re going to expand on that even further. We’re splitting this piece into two categories—United States and International—because we realize that there are breweries doing extremely exciting things all over the world.
TL:DR – These are breweries that are already doing great things, and we’re excited to see them do even better things. Whatever the reason, we have our eyes locked on these places in 2026.
The breweries on this list are presented in no particular order. We acknowledge that this list is subjective. Quite simply, the Hop Culture team thinks these are the best breweries to watch in 2026. And we encourage you to do the same.
But do you know of a brewery that should be on this list? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Slide into our DMs at @hopculturemag and let us know!
The Best Breweries to Watch in 2026
United States
Mount Holly Beer
Mount Holly, VT
Submitted by: Grace Lee-Weitz, Senior Content Editor, Hop Culture
Photography courtesy of Mount Holly Beer
Mount Holly first came on our radar when founder Dan Tilly traveled all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to Ruukki, Finland, one hundred miles south of the Arctic Circle, to chase a Nordic heirloom barley variety.
A purveyor of single-origin lager, Mount Holly Beer wanted to showcase Balder, a strain of barley responsible for most of the beer brewed throughout the ‘40s and ‘50s in Nordic countries.
Grown by Pehkolan Mallastamo (Pehkola’s Malthouse), Balder had adapted to thrive in a place where the sun hardly ever sets in the summer, the primary growing season.
Mount Holly Beer secured sacks of the grain and shipped them to Boston Harbor before they traveled even further north to Mount Holly, VT.
Once in Vermont, Mount Holly Beer brewed a pilsner with a lengthy step mash to help preserve flavor while producing a crisp, clean lager called Sauna Snacks that we named to our “Top 15 Beers We Drank in August this year.”
We’re keeping this brewery on our radar for 2026, especially since we hope to travel to Vermont towards the end of the year. We feel if Tilly is willing to travel halfway around the world just to source a specific grain for one beer, we should find some time in our schedule to fly coast to coast to visit this incredible brewery.
Xul Beer Company
Knoxville, TN
Submitted by: Adam Feingold, Brewery Team Lead, Next Glass
Photography courtesy of Xul Beer Company
Anyone paying attention to the craft beer scene has noticed a lot of changes in the past year, but if you dig a little deeper there’s a brewery in Knoxville, TN, that has been making some noise for a while now, and that noise is about to get louder. The brewery I’m talking about is Xul Beer Company. These guys have been putting out some fantastic beer for a while now, and maybe you’ve come across their beers at a brewery festival or even out in the wild.
In 2025, they began expanding their distribution, and I’ve seen their PB&J Mixtape, which is a fruited sour resembling peanut butter and jelly, out in the wild in a couple different states outside of Tennessee. Towards the end of summer 2025, it was announced that Xul Beer Co will be acquiring Nashville, TN, darling Southern Grist.
Xul Beer Co has been releasing some awesome beers for a while now and I’m excited to see what new frontiers they’ll overcome in 2026.
ill will brewing
Columbiana, OH
Submitted by: Team Pick!
This Ohio brewery is makin’ moves and now finds itself among the top ten beer-makers worldwide!
Based in Columbiana, ill will brewing is the current top-rated brewery on Untappd in Ohio and the 60th highest-rated beer-maker in the entire U.S.—boasting a mind-blowing overall 4.43 rating!
This nano brewery may specialize in hazies and smoothie sours, but of their 196 beers listed on Untappd, you’ll find bangers in various categories like stout, barleywine, seltzer, and even pumpkin beer!
The Ohio team may be one of the newer breweries on campus, but don’t let their freshness shape your opinion. This crew has consistently proven they’re a force to be reckoned with on the biggest of stages!
Over the first two years of the Untappd Community Awards, ill will has stacked up forty-one total medals, including seventeen golds!
The ratings of their beers are through the roof, with several dozen being scored well above 4.5 stars!
If you get a chance to visit, you can expect good vibes, and great beers!
Two Tides Brewing Company
Savannah, GA
Submitted by: Team Pick!
Savannah, Georgia, is often celebrated for its stunning architecture and delicious cuisine, but there’s a brewery that’s turning it into a beer hotspot.
Specializing in sour, haze, and funk, Two Tides Brewing is all about flavor, fun, and fantastically phenomenal beers.
With a 4.01 overall rating on Untappd and 591 beers listed, Two Tides ranks as the 7th highest-rated brewery in Georgia on Untappd!
Their accolades include seven medals at the 2024 Untappd Community Awards, sweeping the entire Fruited Sour category while taking home gold in the Sour (Other) class.
The brewery’s collaborations with notable names like Mortalis and Other Half, along with a constantly changing beer selection, make their super chill taproom a must-visit. Oh, and their merch game is dangerously on point!
Plus, their food trailer, Crispi, serves up smash burgers right at the entrance, while Float Coffee upstairs offers a full espresso bar for those looking to kick back with a great cup of coffee. Lastly, we gotta mention smolbar—the smallest cocktail bar in Savannah, located in the downstairs portion of their space.
Rites Brewing Company
Bay Shore, NY
Submitted by: Derek Campos, Senior Graphic Designer, Next Glass
Photography courtesy of Rites Brewing
Off the beaten path, nestled in a quiet neighborhood on Long Island, is a killer kellerbier waiting to be served to you right out of the tank! You can find it at Rites Brewing in Bay Shore, NY. Run by an uncle-and-nephew duo who are trying things a little differently, this family-run brewery makes a hazy IPA, sure, but it would be shocking if that were its most popular beer.
Rites Brewing boasts traditional open-top fermentation, and it tastes like it. Their beer is complex with distinct flavors crafted using local ingredients. Their hazy IPA is crisp, clean, and, most importantly, doesn’t kill your palate for your next beer.
For lager lovers, their kellerbier becomes increasingly unique the further down the tank it goes, creating a different experience every time you stop by.
The taplist at the moment is small but robust, featuring the aforementioned kellerbier and hazy IPA along with a Belgian saison and dark mild. Each beer complements its style at an ABV that won’t make you question your choices… Yes, even the hazy is only 6.5% ABV!
“We want you to be able to come in, have a few and feel good. … We’re all about our process and flavors, and we hope people latch on to that,” says Rites Head Brewer Chris Dougherty.
At Rites Brewing, you can expect an easygoing vibe with your usual brewery must-haves, including food trucks, dog-friendly spaces, and cocktail options, but the beer is far from usual, in a good way.
Chula Vista Brewery
Chula Vista, CA
Submitted by: Dustin Jeffers, Vice President, Brewery Product & Experience, Next Glass
Photography courtesy of Chula Vista Brewery
Photography courtesy of Chula Vista Brewery
I haven’t had the chance to try Chula Vista’s beers yet, but they made one of the most exciting moves of late 2025: hiring Derek Gallanosa. If that name rings a bell, it’s because Gallanosa helped build legendary programs at Moksa Brewing and GOAL.—both known for world-class stouts and overall great beers. After a brief “retirement,” Gallanosa is back on the brew deck, and that’s something the beer world should celebrate.
“In this beautiful chaos of brewing, we are hopeful for what 2026 brings to CVBREWERY. We return to the things that first pulled us into this craft,” Chula Vista Co-Founder Dalila Parker wrote in an email to Hop Culture. “For Chula Vista, 2025 ends with bringing back things we forgot to be amazed by- and bringing back what feels good to our core (with brews), honoring our gifts and the work we enjoy doing by creating things that makes us feel childlike in the process.”
Parker continues, emphasizing that Gallanosa is an integral part of that “awakening process,” bringing creativity and vision to the brewery’s small team.
“We want to showcase and highlight our South Bay beer community and get back to what made us join this amazing industry in the first place,” Parker writes. “We are in the business of brewing good beer, and in 2026, Chula Vista Brewery is recommitting to quality above all. We are here with a renewed purpose and pride.”
I’m eager to see what Gallanosa creates under the Chula Vista banner, and you can bet I’ll be hunting down his next stout release as soon as it drops.
Dillon Dam Brewery
Dillon, CO
Submitted by: Dustin Jeffers, Vice President, Brewery Product & Experience, Next Glass
It’s rare that I highlight two breweries I haven’t visited yet, but Dillon Dam deserves the mention. This year, they welcomed Matt Manthe, founder and head brewer of now-closed Odd Breed Wild Ales in South Florida, to their team.
Matt built a reputation as one of Florida’s most technically skilled and creative brewers, crafting some of the state’s most nuanced mixed-culture beers. As someone who enjoyed a lot of Odd Breed bottles, I was genuinely sad to see him move west, but excited to taste what he’ll do in Colorado. I expect a refined lineup of traditional beers, hopefully with a few wild-fermented surprises.
Keeping Together
Sante Fe, NM
Submitted by: John Gross, Next Glass Director, Strategic Business Development
Photography courtesy of Keeping Together
Photography courtesy of Keeping Together
Keeping Together has been a force in Chicagoland since 2019 and in the broader mixed fermentation world. Owners Averie Swanson and Pat Fahey, two of the literal foremost beer experts on earth, have been quietly assembling a verdant oasis in Santa Fe, NM, where they’ve taken over a giant greenhouse, renovating it into one of the most inspiring and welcoming taprooms around.
This southwest Eden features saisons, lagers, and a beverage for just about everyone, aiming to be a true community hub.
Leaning on the greenhouse’s bones and penchant for natural light, the taproom’s centerpiece features a giant tapwall of smoky antique glass surrounded by on-brand Santa Fe soft beige (official paint name: Miami Peach) with a slew of walnut stools. The space is bright and light, and lovingly honors its unique character.
In the brewhouse, Swanson was able to commission conical tanks with a broader bottom angle (fortyish degrees, opposed to the standard ninety). This is a small example of how the brewery is putting love and care into every detail, and this trend carries through in the landscaping, the sound system, the bathroom wallpaper, and on and on and on.
The long-awaited brick-and-mortar chapter of the Keeping Together story opens in late winter 2025 or early 2026. When the greenhouse doors open, we’re all going to have access to a whole new world of beer! Bring on the Keeping Together Brewery and Beverage Garden!
International
Brasseria Della Fonte
Pienza, Italy
Submitted by: Magic Muncie, Social Media Manager, Hop Culture and Untappd
Photography courtesy of Magic Muncie, Social Media Manager, Hop Culture and Untappd
Nestled in the heart of Italian wine country, Brasseria Della Fonte is a highly regarded craft brewery most often discovered through ‘passaparola,’ or word of mouth in Italian. Founded in 2015 by head brewer Samuele Cesaroni, Brasseria Della Fonte might not be the most well-known Italian brewery just yet, but its fans are among the most passionate in the country. Much like Hill Farmstead is to Vermont, Brasseria Della Fonte is to southern Tuscany. Genuine craft beer enthusiasts make the pilgrimage to this farm brewery because they know that, at the end of the long drive, they’ll find some of the best beers in the country. The brewery is now the highest-rated on Untappd in all of Italy, and it’s by a considerable margin. After experiencing everything Brasseria Della Fonte has to offer in person back in September, I have recommended making the trip to anyone and everyone.
Orca Brau
Nuremberg, Germany
Submitted by: Grace Lee-Weitz, Senior Content Editor, Hop Culture
Photography courtesy of Magic Muncie, Social Media Manager, Hop Culture and Untappd
A craft brewery in Nuremberg, Orca Brau considers itself a North American-style brewery, according to co-founder Felix vom Endt, who spent one year living and working in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
The brewery focuses on three types of beer: traditional German lagers, modern contemporary hoppy ales, and experimental styles (hello, raspberry chili smoked porter!).
While Orca Brau’s pale ale, called wanderlust, is a best seller, we actually fell in love with Goldie.
The part-blonde-ale-part-helles-lager includes a blend of traditional barley and a historic Franconian malt revived from near extinction.
“It has its own character—it’s a little bit more caramel, honey,” explains vom Endt, who says this means it’s actually a much harder Pilsner malt to brew with because you have to pay more for it and boil it longer. “But at the end, you have a super interesting and complex product … that makes the beer more interesting to drink.”
And in Franconia, the land of incredible lagers, setting yourself apart is key.
If you need a true testament to the quality of this beer, our guide on the trip, Tobias Kerschbaumer, who lives in Nuremberg, had this to say about Goldie: “I drank this and it was perfect!”
Enough said.
Eddyline Brewery
Nelson, NZ
Submitted by: Grace Lee-Weitz, Senior Content Editor, Hop Culture
Photography courtesy of Hop Culture
Photography courtesy of Stacey Lee-Weitz | Hop Culture
When you go down a rapid, the water slows down at the bottom, pooling in a calm space on the side of the river. It’s a safe place where kayakers can regroup, recount a potentially hard ride, and crack a beer if they feel like it—that’s the Eddyline.
“It’s that line where you cross from the fast-flowing water into the slow, calm water,” explains Eddyline Brewery Owner and Brewer Michiel Heynekamp, who used to drive from New Mexico to Colorado with his partner and Eddyline’s other owner, Molley Heynekamp, to go whitewater kayaking. “We’ve had a lot of beers in the eddies!”
As I walked into Eddyline’s second location in Nelson, New Zealand, slightly sweaty from a bike ride across Tasman’s Great Taste Trail, the calm hit me immediately. Fresh hop bines hung on the walls, recently picked, and lights shaped like hops hung from the ceiling. To one side, a chalkboard showed off Eddyline’s current taps—over twenty strong.
Behind the bar, a mountain graphic with curls of waves at the bottom stood tall; rays of light shone over it, seeming to mimic the sun—everything connected to Mic and Molley, American homebrewers who loved the outdoors and for the last ten years have found themselves thousands of miles from “home.”
Eddyline didn’t initially start in New Zealand, but the Buena Vista, CO-based brewery now has two locations in Nelson Tasman. The two brewery owners’ paths have zigged and zagged as much as any whitewater rapids. But they’ve found their Eddyline in a place perhaps they never expected.
At the bottom of the world.
“It’s like you pull out of the busy, fast current of your life into the slow waters of a pub, and you look at where you’ve been, where you’re going, celebrate your wins, cry over your [losses],” says Mic, who met Molley at New Mexico Tech while studying for a master’s degree in geology.
In 2010, Molley and Mic took their first holiday in a decade. They chose New Zealand, driving around in a camper van.
“Oh my god, this is Colorado with a coastline,” says Mic, who pointed out that no craft beer existed in Nelson Tasman then. “Nobody even knew what an IPA was. … The light bulb went off. Holy cow, we know how to make IPA.”
It took two years for the New Zealand government to approve the couple’s business visa. Mic says they received the confirmation email in February 2014 and, by April, had booked a flight to New Zealand.
Over the next decade, the Heynekamps opened their original spot serving pizza and a second location dedicated to New Mexican food, with everything from smothered burrito plates and nachos to tacos and enchiladas.
As for the beer, get yourself a tasting paddle and settle in. Remember how we said there were over twenty taps? Go for the Roaring 40’s Porter or GorgeJuice Hazy IPA, a mashup made to sound like gorgeous. “Whenever you’re in a gorge, it’s the most gorgeous place on Earth,” says Mic, who has kayaked the Grand Canyon twice.
Don’t pass on the CrankYanker. Eddyline’s first-ever beer evolved from one of Mic’s homebrewing recipes, a fifteen-gallon batch he’d brew for weekly Friday potlucks where he asked friends to leave comments on what they thought.
A more modern West Coast IPA with less bitterness and more maltiness, CrankYanker “is that time you’re cranking, just grinding your way up the hill, thinking about the beer you’re going to have when you get to the bottom,” says Mic.
And that’s what Eddyline is all about.
“It’s really just to celebrate our wins,” says Mic. “Whether you just go for a casual, quick run up the hill and back down, or you’re doing a giant epic ride, you’re going to finish it with a beer, right?”
Do it at Eddyline.
Heyday Beer Co.
Wellington, NZ
Submitted by: Grace Lee-Weitz, Senior Content Editor, Hop Culture
Photography courtesy of Pivot Photography and WellingtonNZ
You can’t miss Heyday Beer Co. on Cuba Street in Wellington, NZ. The sea-foam-green exterior stands out. Even if you don’t see Heyday, you’ll probably hear it.
Behind a simple wooden slatted fence, an outdoor beer garden buzzes, picnic tables packed with flights and conversation. Groups of people stand around on the turf, soaking up the intermittent rays of sun peaking through the clouds.
Walking under the rolltop doors, a similar seafoam-tiled bar immediately splashes out at me, drawing me closer. To my right, the brewery’s gleaming steel tanks stand open for all to see, a conscious decision from Heyday Beer Co. Co-Founder, Director, and Designer Hannah Blackwood, “to get the best out of the brewers, but also to let the customer feel involved in the process.”
At Heyday Beer Co., at the bottom of New Zealand’s North Island, the motto is simple: “Be Kind, Stay Safe, Drink Beer.”
It’s a slogan that harkens back to a different time. One where neighbors traded sugar and hosted summer barbecues. Walking inside feels like stepping into your childhood best friend’s basement rather than a brewery.
This is not to say the brewery is old-fashioned, far from it. But it’s hard to stand in front of the aquamarine bar without seeing flashes of Julia Child’s kitchen, all celadon green tile and colored cabinets. There is an intentional simplicity here that harkens back to, well, a heyday.
“When things are in their heyday, they’re nostalgic and at the height of their popularity,” explains Blackwood, dressed in a navy polka-dotted dress. “I wanted the place to be a little bit retro, a little bit funky.”
The design isn’t the only nod to the past here.
A designer by trade with an honors degree from Massey, Blackwood dreamed up the idea to start a brewery with one of her other business partners during a three-month trip across the States in 2015.
Yes, you’ll find the ever-popular hazies here. For instance, Soul Cat, a nod to Blackwood’s cat Queenie and part of a larger limited series of hazies built on Marvel’s Infinity stones.
But you’ll also encounter a single called Enkel, the first of four Belgian beers Heyday has planned for the year.
A core imperial pilsner called Jeremiah and a Passionfruit Miso Sour. The former and latter are part of Heyday’s monthly lager and sour series, where they release a new beer in each category every month.
Personality oozes out of Heyday’s beers and taproom.
“I wanted bright (but not fluoro), airy, and cheerful,” explains Blackwood, who hoped her focus would make the place more inclusive of everybody, “not just the beer connoisseur who sits at a dark mahogany bar.”
She adds, “And if there is a beer connoisseur, he doesn’t care that he’s sitting on a pink seat!”
Heyday isn’t afraid to embrace who they are: a little vintage, a little thrifty, a lot of soul.
KAIJU! Beer
Dandenong South, Victoria, Australia
Submitted by: Grace Lee-Weitz, Senior Content Editor, Hop Culture
Photography courtesy of Magic Muncie, Social Media Manager, Hop Culture
We were lucky enough for Australia’s largest hop producer, HPA, to invite us out to join them at this year’s hop harvest in Australia’s hop-growing region, Victoria.
Not only did we get to see their brand-spanking-new pelleting facility, Hop Central, and experience how they’re absolutely crushing the future of hop innovation, but we also got to meet some pretty cool people.
Those like KAIJU! Beer Founder Nat Reeves.
Decked out in a seafoam green button-up with cyclone-like pineapple heads, islands, and seaplanes, Reeves, also known as a chronomantic arcane scientist (seriously, it says that on his business card), is as colorful as his clothing.
The part-time Magic: The Gathering enthusiast created his own KAIJU! beers that became new Magic cards, for instance.
While chatting with Reeves at theHigh Country Hop festival, a showcase of Australian breweries hosted each year during the harvest, we asked him to give us a taste of the beer that people were asking for the most.
He handed us Wet Hopped Cerveza.
Known for hop-forward IPAs, KAIJU! ventured into lager land simply because Reeves says he loves them.
According to Reeves, KAIJU!’s “Kaijheitsgebot,” which used to be “more hops is never enough,” shifted.
And Reeves thought a crushable Mexican-style cerveza fit Australia’s environment perfectly. As we stood cooking under the eighty-degree sun, trying not to get sunburned, and sipped Wet Hopped Cerveza, we had to agree.
Wet Hopped Cerveza, much like KAIJU! itself, is like two best friends crashing a wedding, an unexpected adventure that you’ll tell everyone about for years to come.
KHB Brugghús
Borgafjörður Eystri, Iceland
Submitted by: Grace Lee-Weitz, Senior Content Editor, Hop Culture
Photography courtesy of Grace Lee-Weitz | Hop Culture
Photography courtesy of Grace Lee-Weitz | Hop Culture
Photography courtesy of Grace Lee-Weitz | Hop Culture
Forty-three and a half miles from the nearest city, over a mountain pass, and out on the northeastern coast of Iceland, a peeling white-and-pink building belies a modern brewery within.
Here, in the middle of nowhere, at the edge of the world, we found a brewery making one of, if not the best Czech pilsners in all of Iceland.
KHB Brugghús opened in the coastal village of one hundred people called Borgarfjörður Eystri.
In summer, people flock in the thousands (67k on average) to visit Puffin Island, a crag in the middle of the ocean that puffin colonies call home for the nesting season.
KHB Brugghús Co-Founder Helgi Sigurdsson, along with his partner Auður Vala Gunnarsdóttir, purchased the old grocery store in 2016.
Standing for Kaupfélag Héraðsbúa, a local cooperative that originally operated where the brewery now stands, KHB’s building dates back to 1897, making it one of the oldest in the village. But the grocery store and community co-op eventually went bankrupt.
When Helgi and Auður started KHB, they petitioned the town’s three-person council to use the original name and logo, hoping to preserve the co-op’s legacy.
“The building was so deeply rooted in local memory,” says Helgi. “We’ve been proud to carry the heritage forward.”
One beer in particular in this nautical-themed taproom stood out to us—the Borghildur Czech pilsner.
Curious how a top-notch Czech pilsner made its way to a remote village in Iceland?
So were we.
“We got in contact with a brewer in Czechia,” Helgi told us. “A former head brewer for Pilsner Urquell.”
Josef Krýsl landed in Borgarfjörður Eystri per special entry and under strict regulations during the summer of 2021—what Helgi calls the “COVID summer.”
Stuck in the little Icelandic town, the former brewmaster who now travels the world building kits for breweries, couldn’t leave for a few months.
“So he taught us how to brew,” laughs Helgi.
Can you imagine a better scenario for a new brewery than a former Pilsner Urquell brewmaster unable to leave your town for several months with nothing better to do than write recipes and show you the ropes?
KHB Head Brewer Þorsteinn Brandsson (aka Steini), who lives in a yellow house we passed on the way in, worked side by side with Krýsl, gaining invaluable knowledge and experience.
For Borghildur, which won a silver medal at the London Beer Competition in March 2024, Steini starts with a Pilsen malt from Sladovna Bruntál. He does a single decoction, “but with a recipe and guidance from my Czech brewmaster,” he wrote to Hop Culture after our visit. For hops, Steini notes that he adds Premiant for bittering and Saaz for aroma and flavor.
To this day, Steini still calls Krýsl with questions.
“It was truly fantastic to have Josef as our mentor,” says Helgi. “We were incredibly fortunate to have him join us.”
And we were fortunate to taste this beer.
Later in the car, as we bump along to see those famous puffins, we discuss—still mystified that we could find such a gem in such a remote place.
“I thought that was going to be somebody doing a little bit of homebrewing out on the edge of the world,” dithers beer author and my companion on this trip visiting all the breweries on Iceland’s Ring Road, Tim Webb. “But to come up with a seriously competent pilsner in the middle of nowhere…”
He trails off before adding, “They were genuinely good.”
We all shake our heads vigorously in agreement.
“But I guess if you had a former brewmaster of Pilsner Urquell stranded for four months,” he continues, “you’re going to learn something, aren’t you?”
After just a few hours at KHB, we sure did.
Small Gods
Auckland, New Zealand
Submitted by: Grace Lee-Weitz, Senior Content Editor, Hop Culture
Walking down a steep alleyway in Auckland’s Eden Terrace neighborhood, I hesitated. Was I going the right way? It didn’t seem like there could be a brewery back here. However, a couple of signs and another glance at Google Maps confirmed that I was heading in the right direction. While finding Small Gods may be like navigating through Narnia, once you reach this magical taproom, you might never want to leave.
A reference from fantasy author Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series (the first book of which I controversially admit I could barely finish), Small Gods also refers to the power of yeast.
When I walked inside right after the brewery opened, co-founder Luke White sat at one of the picnic tables. He immediately jumped up, chatting me up as I looked at the tap list, curious how a Californian had found her way to Small Gods.
I became equally curious about how the England-born White opened a brewery in Auckland.
White told me he moved to Auckland after visiting and falling in love with the weather, which is not altogether unlike why my partner and I moved from New York City to Oakland.
White originally started a beer subscription service called Beer Jerks, which offered cases of twelve beers at a time.
With a passion for history, White enjoys brewing historical styles. For instance, Throwing Hands, a Seefbier, a cloudy golden blonde beer historically popular in Antwerp.
Or Queen of the Meadow, a Bière de Printemps brewed for spring.
My partner couldn’t quite come up with words to describe this beer, but I’ll try here.
I get what she meant, though. You ride a sine wave with Queen of the Meadow, with the notes changing as you drink. I found it almost easier to describe this beer not in terms of flavors, but feelings.
A sip feels like running barefoot through a meadow of budding wildflowers, your hands trailing at your sides through fields of reeds. Up ahead, a break leads down to the sand. Drink a little more, and you can imagine yourself settling down inside the particles, taking a nap on the beach, cuddling in the ocean breeze.
Living in a fantasy drives everything at Small Gods. We dare you to go here and not lose yourself in a completely new world.
Blech.Brut
Bamberg, Germany
Submitted by: Team Pick!
Blech.Brut is undeniably one of the most exciting names in the German brewing landscape today, but what sets them apart is their commitment to modern brewing styles that defy traditional German norms.
Founded in 2018 by Benedikt Steger, a seasoned brewmaster with a wealth of experience gained from brewing in Germany, London, and Paris, Blech.Brut began its journey as a nomadic brewery in Bamberg, often called Germany’s beer capital.
This unique approach allowed them to experiment with various brewing techniques and styles without the constraints of a permanent brewhouse.
Their innovative spirit quickly garnered attention, leading RateBeer to award them the title of best new German brewery in 2019, a recognition that marked the beginning of their meteoric rise in the craft beer scene.
Since then, Blech.Brut has continued to impress, currently ranked seventh among Germany’s highest-rated breweries on Untappd, with a remarkable 3.93 rating on Untappd.
With over 150,000 check-ins of brews ranging from tropical hazy IPAs to bold barrel-aged stouts, Blech.Brut’s beers have captured the hearts of craft beer enthusiasts across the globe.
Their dedication to quality and creativity has not gone unnoticed, as evidenced by their impressive haul of nine medals at the Untappd Community Awards. This recognition speaks volumes about their ability to craft exceptional brews that resonate with a diverse audience.
If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of tasting their remarkable offerings, consider this your official sign to snag some of their goods.
Badlands Brewing Company
Caledon, Ontario, Canada
Submitted by: Team Pick!
Badlands Brewing, established in 2017 by the dynamic trio of Troy Baxter, his wife Grace, and Mike Nuttall, has become a standout in Ontario’s craft beer scene, all while brewing up a storm on their picturesque farm in the Canadian city of Caledon.
Fast forward to today, and they’ve snagged the impressive title of the seventh-highest-rated brewery in Canada on Untappd, boasting a stellar overall 4.22 rating!
But hold onto your hops—when you tally the check-ins from the first half of 2025, they were strutting their stuff as the second-highest-rated brewery outside the U.S., trailing only the legendary Cantillon.
With a family farm that houses twenty cows and a constantly evolving lineup of brews (no core brands here!), Badlands also has a unique “house yeast” that’s instrumental to their brewing philosophy: an “IPA factory that sometimes makes other beer.”
After nearly a decade and over 202k check-ins, Badlands has solidified its status as a top-tier Canadian brewery, as evidenced by the twenty-three medals it has earned over the first two years of the Untappd Community Awards.
Badlands flexed hard with their eight gold medals at the 2025 Untappd Community Awards, snagging golds in eight categories, including Double IPA, American IPA, Triple IPA, Triple Hazy, NZ IPA, NZ Pale Ale, American Pale Ale, and Black IPA.
Clearly, they’re not just brewing beer; they’re crafting hoppy masterpieces that keep beer lovers coming back for more.
Brasserie du Bas-Canada
Gatineau, QC, Canada
Submitted by: Team Pick!
This Canadian brewery ranks among the top fifty beer-makers worldwide!
Founded in 2017, Brasserie du Bas-Canada took the craft beer scene by storm with its modern mindset, focusing on hazy IPAs and barrel-aged stouts, and is now the second-highest-rated brewery in the country on Untappd.
This contemporary ideology has made Brasserie du Bas-Canada one of the most sought-after breweries on Untappd, and it now boasts an astonishing 4.29 overall average!
With 380 beers listed, Brasserie du Bas-Canada hit a tremendous milestone recently when users pushed them over the 400k check-in mark!
During the 2024 Untappd Community Awards, the Quebec brewery stacked up twenty-one medals across stouts, barleywines, lagers, and hoppy ales!
Brasserie du Bas-Canada secured golds in the following eleven categories: Imperial Stout, Imperial Coffee Stout, Imperial Milk Stout, Milk Stout, English Barleywine, Imperial IPA, Imperial Milkshake IPA, Milkshake IPA, American Pale Ale, Pale Ale (Other), and Pilsner (Other)
Additionally, Brasserie du Bas-Canada swept the Imperial Milk Stout and Pale Ale (Other) categories! Just another impressive feat for this fan-favorite brewery.
Located in Gatineau (between Toronto and Montreal), the Brasserie du Bas-Canada taproom is a chill spot with freshly rotating beers and a great selection of bites.
Folkingebrew
Groningen, Netherlands
Submitted by: Team Pick!
This Dutch brewery has been absolutely crushin’ it and is now the seventh-highest-rated brewery in the country on Untappd.
Based in Groningen, Folkingebrew is a Netherlands brewery that should be on everyone’s radar.
Folkingebrew has made a name for itself with its bold beer, audacious aromas, and adventurous flavors. From hoppy ales to smoothie sours, Folkingebrew holds no punches and seemingly always delivers a knockout.
Per the crew at Folkingebrew, “*Folkinge* refers to the location where we started brewing: in the ‘backyard’ of a beer shop in the Folkingestraat in Groningen. *Brew* refers to the American craft beer culture, where we mostly get our inspiration.”
With 73 beers listed and nearly 250k check-ins on Untappd, Folkingebrew maintains an outstanding 4.03 overall rating!
During the 2024 Untappd Community Awards, Folkingebrew secured seven medals while simultaneously striking gold in the Fruited Berliner Weisse and Quadruple IPA categories.
