12 best British beers of 2022: From pales and IPAs to lagers and porters

Britain is home to some world-class breweries, but East London’s The Five Points clinches the accolade of best beer in Britain for us, thanks to its solid, accessible and easy-drinking core range. As well as its showcase of classic, British beer styles made new (it appears further down this list for its homage to England’s former lover, the bitter), this brewery is smashing it out of the park, with its perfect take on modern beer styles, with class and taste. It’s why its juicy pale ale, jupa, takes our top-spot.

It’s thirst-quenching and just tastes great – with no complications, or beating around the bush. Fairly low in ABV, it’s a perfectly sessionable drink – with the flavour to boot, thanks to the hop additions of simcoe, and dry-hopped additions of citra and mosaic, giving it those bold, juicy, tropical fruit flavours. Think papaya, mango, pineapple and headstrong citrus, with a well-rounded bitterness, and you’re halfway there.

Glasgow’s own Overtone specialises in extra-special NEIPAs (New England style IPAs) that are hella hazy and juicy to boot – and, in our opinion, the best in Britain.

Overtone’s brewery is fully fluid, with an ever-changing range of beer styles – so, it does mean there’s no core range, but it promises super-bolshy, funky flavours year-round (just don’t get too attached).

Right now, we’re loving its perfect harmony – it’s fresh, thick and smooth, boasting heaps of peaches, citrus, passion fruit and melon, with a kick of spice and grassiness at the end. Paired with its range of eye-catching, musical-inspired cans to match its name, it’s what the kids call “dank” (we had to google it too).

We couldn’t write a list of the best beers of Britain without the current champion beer of Scotland, could we? Introducing jarl, the citra session blonde flagship from farm brewery Fyne Ales. The west-Scotland-based brewery was one of the first UK breweries to use citra hops back in 2010, when jarl was born – named as the epitome of a modern classic.

Like a fine blonde, it’s lower in ABV, sessionable and well-balanced. Pouring golden, with a flash of white head, it’s easy-drinking, thanks to the vibrant bitterness of grapefruit, paired with soft, citrus and lemon notes – rounded off with a smooth hit of grassiness. It’s lovely.

Lager brewery Lost and Grounded has cracked the once simple, straightforward lager and transformed it into something extremely special – with a focus on German brewing styles. Its keller pils (which essentially translates to “cellar stored pilsner” – fitting, as the term “lager” simply translates from the German for “to store”) is the brewery’s flagship and bestselling beer – and for good reason.

Taking pilsner malt from Germany and combining with three traditional hop varieties – magnum, perle and hallertauer mittelfrüh – the outcome is an extremely clean, fresh and well-balanced bitter lager.

On appearance, it’s straw-coloured, with a white, foamy head. On the tongue, it’s dry and crisp. It’s perfect and gives lager a delectable makeover. It’s so good, Lost and Grounded covered its state-of-the-art brewery building with a mural of it.

This vegan-friendly flagship from Newcastle’s very own Full Circle Brew is a fine example of an IPA. From its core range, Full Circle’s looper IPA is a pleasure to drink – and look at, thanks to its hazy, orange appearance and long-lasting frothy white head.

It’s soft and pillowy on the tongue, with a hit of zesty citrus notes (think juicy, tart lashings of lemon and lime) and a well-balanced grapefruit bitterness to round it all off. It’s “hopped up to the eyes”, according to the Geordie brewery, with citra, mosaic and cashmere giving it that classic IPA bitterness.

Although its ABV clocks in at 6.4 per cent, it’s seriously drinkable – especially when the clock turns 5:01pm on a Friday evening. We also love how it pays homage to the classic Newcastle riverside scene, with illustrations of the city’s famed landmarks.

Love for York’s own Brew York has exploded in recent years, with the brewery becoming a firm name in craft beer’s history books. Its beers are reliably phenomenal, with “out there” flavours and styles that actually work – think rhubarb milkshake pale ales, gooseberry fool sours, and seasonal pastry stouts). Its core milk stout, tonkoko, has been deemed “liquid bounty” – and we’d have to agree.

Pouring a stunning chocolatey brown, the beer is smooth and creamy, with notes of coconut (hand-roasted by Brew York), tonka beans and a hint of Madagascan vanilla. It’s decadent and outright delicious, complete with cacao nibs and a silky sweetness that would rival any chocolate bar. Brew York loves it so much that it apparently built a custom infusion vessel to make it, and has released a souped-up imperial version (£5.20, Brewyork.co.uk) coming in at 7.5 per cent. That’s dedication.

Manchester is home to some of the best modern British breweries around to match its unbeatable nightlife – and there’s no wonder that its fabled brewery, Cloudwater, has a cult following to match. Its beers are fantastic, and we don’t say that lightly. In its short seven-year history, Cloudwater has produced top-quality, modern, fresh and seriously unique beers – showcasing the quality of talent oft-forgotten in the north (and we’re allowed to say that, as we’re Geordies). But if you’re new to Cloudwater, and have been living under a rock this past decade, its core range is a fantastic place to start. It’s all fluffy, fruity and fun modern hazy beers done right.

From its core range, we love its hazy pale, fuzzy – it’s bright, bold, fruity and just a pioneer when it comes to doing well-worn styles right. The hazy, New England-style pale is pretty accessible too, but doesn’t scrimp on taste or aesthetics just by being easy-drinking.

Cloudwater is a game-changer, and has earned its firm spot when it comes to Britain’s (and the North’s) best beers. Plus, it can look great atop any kitchen counter or bookshelf. Just don’t blame us for the fuzzy head after you’ve enjoyed a few too many.

The classic porter was the beer that started it all for brewing in Victorian London. In the 19th century, many men worked as porters – unloading and loading trade vessels on London’s docks and rivers. Shortly after the discovery of brown malt, the dark, calorie-rich drink was created, in an attempt to target the large population of Londoners who needed such a drink to keep them going after strenuous work.

The porter started it all for South London-based Anspach & Hobday, too. Its award-winning flagship is a nod to the history of porters, and a fine example of the classic English beer style reborn – as its label suggests, pairing a moustachioed Victorian man alongside a modern-day bloke.

Pouring chocolate brown, with a slight coffee-stained head that lasts, it’s all roasty coffee on the nose, coupled with a medium body – with rich coffee flavours, alongside bittersweet dark chocolate. Be prepared to fall in love and choose to buy a pack of six, 12 or 24.

London is so firmly established as a brewing city that we had to separate it into north and south to give you the best of the capital’s beer styles. Hosting north London is Hackney’s own The Five Points Brewing Co (which also took the top spot in this round-up), with its homage to the classic English beer style: the bitter.

Traditionally cask-conditioned, bitters ran through the veins of England in the 20th century – dropping in popularity as the once “national beer of England”, as, well, it simply wasn’t as cool to drink as the cloudy, fruity, juice bombs modern British breweries pumped out. That is, until now.

The Five Points’ homage to the bitter has helped the resurgence of the beer’s popularity, making younger drinkers reach for classic, cask ales – and it is tasting great. Brewed with seasonal English hops, its core is silky smooth and grassy, with plenty of herbaceous, floral notes, complemented by the classic malt, biscuity and rich caramel notes, and finishing with a well-rounded bitterness (so don’t let the name put you off).

It’s a fine example of The Five Points being influenced by the past but brewing for the present – showcasing its expertise.

Based on a farm in North Wales, the independent Polly’s is knocking it out of the park when it comes to fresh, modern, hop-forward beer – despite being a mere four years old. After cracking its original, core range – producing super fresh beer to a top-notch standard – Polly’s has its eye set on its next big thing: its augment and icons range. And what an icon Rosa is – the epitome of the brewery, it has rightly earning accolades from even the most seasoned of beer drinkers. First brewed in 2019, Rosa has set the benchmark for massive DIPAs (double IPAs) – firmly putting the style in every beer drinker’s fridge across the nation. Rosa is huge, thanks to a five-hop line-up. It’s big, bold, bright and just beautiful. It’s full of sticky stone and tropical fruit, along with pine, it’s juicy and just so dank.

With more than 100 awards, Jaipur is Thornbridge’s flagship beer that put the brewery firmly on the map in 2005. The Derbyshire-based brewery’s beer is probably the bevvy that “got people into beer” – and its core IPA is often attributed as the UK’s first “craft” beer of its kind.

Its US hop list is humongous, crediting chinook, centennial, simcoe, ahtanum, cascade and columbus for its seriously drinkable, well-balanced flavour. It’s all zesty citrus and bitter grapefruit that gives it its delightful bitterness, combating its tropical fruit hit – helping it remain light, and hella fresh.

It’s a chameleon too, as the hoppiness builds, while still staying smooth and super soft. It’s a pretty great, accessible beer – and a firm “must-drink” on your British beer bucket list (it tastes even better on draught, so watch out for it in all worthy locals).

Winning the accolade of best alcohol-free (AF) pale ale in our round-up of the best low ABV beers, we couldn’t round off a feature on the best British beers without an AF option from Mash Gang. The brewery is making “lo-n-no” beer alternatives cool with its trendy, psychedelic packaging – and it tastes just as good, too.

Its vegan, with an impressive hop list – pouring a hazy golden colour, and tasting like a fruit bomb of pineapple and passionfruit, before bitterness and a tart citrus takes the back seat. Wonderful, sessionable stuff that feels super soft on the tongue, and made for more than just sober October.

It’s currently sold out on Mash Gang’s shop, but it’s part of its core range and will be back soon. This isn’t one you’re going to want to miss out on.