14 April 2014 - Best Beer HQ

The best 20 beers in the world – Stanford University scientists

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What is the best beer in the world? It’s a question that fans of the amber nectar have been pondering for centuries.

Well, thanks to two computer scientists at Stanford University we now have a definitive top 20 ranking of the best beers in the world – based on the online reviews posted by beer lovers at popular website RateBeer.

First published online at Business Insider Australia, the ranking of the 20 best beers in the world takes into account the number of reviews that an individual user has written and how that user’s rating evolve compared to other users.

In other words, the more experience we have, the more we will like a certain beer. So you probably shouldn’t jump straight to number one, and work your way up from number 20 instead.

Looking at the list, the most obvious thing that comes across is a strong bias towards American brews – with only four beers in the top 20 coming from outside North America – and dark beers.

So it’s fair to say you should take this list with a grain of salt or, even better, with a bowl of salty snacks.

Their 20 best beers in the world:

20. Stone’s Imperial Russian Stout, USA

19. Bell’s Batch 7000 Ale, USA

18. Bell’s Hopslam Ale, USA

17. 3 Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek, Belgium

16. Hürlimann Samichlaus, Swittzerland

15. Hair of the Dog’s Fred From The Wood, USA

14. Deschutes Brewery’s The Abyss, USA

13. Surly’s Darkness, USA

12. Westvleteren’s Extra 8, Belgium

11. Russian River’s Supplication, USA

10. Hair of the Dog’s Adam, USA

9. Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout, USA

8. Russian River’s Temptation, USA

7. Russian River’s Pliny the Elder, USA

6. Founders Brewing Co.’s KBS, USA

5. Three Floyds Brewing’s Dreadnaught Imperial IPA, USA

4. Bell’s Expedition Stout, USA

3. AleSmith’s Speedway Stout, USA

2. Three Floyds Brewing’s Dark Lord Russian Imperial Scout, USA

1. Westvleteren’s 12, Belgium

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