Grace Weitz

New year, new beers, new breweries, new places to travel and drink! We can't possibly visit every taproom that opens its doors, but our team does a pretty good job of traveling locally and internationally, doing our best to visit more than a few.

Another year, another impossible task: narrowing down the breweries that blew our minds, melted our palates, and made us seriously consider installing a second liver. You'd think after crisscrossing the globe for festivals, sneaking into taprooms between flights, and obsessively scrolling your check-ins on Untappd, this list would get easier. Nope. Every November, we stare at a chaotic pile of contenders and wonder how on earth we're supposed to choose. And yet—somehow—we manage to nail down a list of the Best Breweries of 2025.

Here's the thing about drinking beer for a living: The deeper we dive into this wild, wonderful world of lagers, lambics, saisons, and everything in between, the harder it gets to pick favorites. In 2025 alone, Hop Culture Senior Content Editor Grace Lee-Weitz clocked 669 unique beers from 323 breweries in 117 styles across 15 countries, three continents, and a handful of states. (Yes, our livers are tired. No, we're not slowing down.)

With 2025 all wrapped up like a holiday present under the tree, let's look back at the articles we enjoyed writing the most during the last twelve months.

March can mean many things: 🌷The first sign of spring ⚾The first crack of the bat as baseball season begins

Spring has officially sprung—and so has our urge to swap stouts for something a little more…sunshine-friendly. The days are longer, the vibes are lighter, and the beers? Let's just say they're blooming nicely. From juicy, fruit-forward heavy hitters to crisp lagers made for patio season, April's lineup is basically your fridge's seasonal glow-up. 🌷🍺

The rocks jutted out of the earth like ice cubes in a glass of whiskey—one, an elephant climbing up a staircase into the sky; the other a beluga whale cresting the surface, its head just visible.

Spring is in full swing, and so is our beer fridge. Whether we're hunting down a grail release, craving something crisp and seasonal, or just looking for a reliable go-to that never disappoints, May delivers on all fronts. The taps are flowing, the ratings are climbing, and the Hop Culture Shop is stocked with some genuinely exciting stuff right now.

You've seen them at music festivals, liquor stores, and in your friend's fridge. Now you're curious. THC drinks, including seltzers, spirit alternatives, and shots, have spread across mainstream retail over the last two years, providing a hangover-free way to take the edge off without reaching for a beer, glass of wine, or cocktail.

Belgium's beer culture is world-renowned. In fact, Belgian Beer Culture was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016, recognizing the country's unique brewing traditions and beer gastronomy.