Samuel Adams has been named the most recommended beer brand of 2026, according to YouGov’s annual report. Its recommendation score was 88.7%, based on customer recommendations over the previous 12 months.

Guinness and Stella Artois followed in second and third place. Other familiar brands on the list included Blue Moon and Heineken.

The brand’s American roots are reflected in its name and brewing location. Samuel Adams was named for the Founding Father, who had ties to the beer trade, and the company brews in Boston.

The story of its flagship Boston Lager began with a family recipe. In 1984, entrepreneur Jim Koch found instructions for Louis Koch Lager in the attic of his family home in Ohio. He brought the recipe to Boston and adapted it into the lager that helped launch the Boston Beer Company. The business grew, and a Samuel Adams brewery later opened in Boston.

Today, the independently owned brewery makes Boston Lager as well as year-round beers including an American Light lager, Cherry Wheat ale, New England Juicy IPA, and East Coast IPA.

Online beer drinkers have praised Boston Lager as an approachable, balanced example of a classic beer. One Reddit user recalled that it sparked their interest in trying different brews, while another described it as a straightforward, neither-too-bitter-nor-too-sweet beer.