We Asked 10 Brewers: What’s Your Guilty-Pleasure Beer? (2026)

Being a brewer requires a well-honed palate and a keen sense of what is and isn’t good. Brewers exist somewhere on the spectrum of artist to scientist, managing a very precise process while also imbuing their own flourish. Their taste buds and sense of smell are just as important as their fermenters and brew kettles. A brewer is going to know what a good beer is, because they have to know.

But what about those beers that usually wouldn’t be up on a pedestal with the most renowned? The ones that are maligned for being mass-produced, tasting too sweet, piggybacking on an old trend, or (perish the thought) containing pumpkin? There are a slew of beers that the snobbish craft beer nerds would turn their noses up at and refuse to drink. But they may be shocked to learn that brewers often have a favorite among these “guilty pleasure” beers.

So we decided to ask them. We talked to 10 brewers to find out what beers trigger their nostalgia and bring them back again and again. They gushed about unapologetic love for berry ales, cute stubby bottles, and all the brews that live in a soft spot in their hearts.

The best “guilty pleasure” beers, according to brewers:

Abita Beer Strawberry Lager
Coronitas
Young’s Double Chocolate Stout
Shipyard Pumpkin Head
Busch Light Apple
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Coors Banquet
Miller High Life
Industrial Arts Wrench
Miller Lite
Bud Heavy

“My guilty pleasure beer would have to be Abita Strawberry. It’s hard to say if something is good when nostalgia enters the room. When it comes to flavors, experience can often override that, but this checks all the boxes. Crisp, fruity, and unapologetic. I remember grabbing a sack of crawfish at Fisherman’s Wharf in New Orleans and drinking Abita Strawberry while chowing down on mud bugs overlooking the Mississippi. I still get people to mail it up to me and crush it in my backyard.” —Lara Hargrave, head pub brewer and research and development, Steeplejack Brewing, Portland, Ore.

“My guilty pleasure beer is the little seven-ounce Coronitas. I feel like Andre the Giant when I drink them!” —Richie Tevlin, owner and brewmaster, Space Cadet Brewing Company, Philadelphia

“I still have a soft spot in my heart for Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. It was one of the first stouts I truly loved; richer than a Guinness, but not as sweet as a typical pastry stout. I used to find it in most of my local beer stores, but I haven’t seen it in a while.” —Melissa Walter, co-founder and co-owner, Love City Brewing, Philadelphia

“My guilty pleasure beer is Shipyard Pumpkin Head. The iconic seasonal received a major overhaul in recent years when production was moved to the F.X. Matt brewery. The beer is now lighter in color and leaner in body, leading to a higher drinkability. Fermented with a new yeast strain than it was historically gives it a cleaner finish. The beer is only available three months out of the year, and with its modern upgrades, it will disappear from my fridge faster than ever.” —Michael Fava, beverage director, Novare Res Bier Café, Portland, Maine

“Busch Light Apple is my guilty pleasure. As much as I wanted to hate it when it started trending, I hunt down as much as I reasonably can when I see it drop for the season. And ‘bapple’ is honestly just a cute nickname too.” —Rachael Stillman, brewer, Lost Shoe Brewing and Roasting Company, Marlborough, Mass.

“My guilty pleasure beer is Pabst Blue Ribbon. Reminds me of my college days and is always an easy drinker.” —Tracy Converse, head brewer, Boulder Junction Brewing Company, Boulder Junction, Wis.

“My guilty pleasure beer was Coors Banquet, specifically the stubby bottles. But then I moved to Wisconsin and had to switch to the Champagne of Beers, Miller High Life. It’s crisp, refreshing, and reliable. And my other guilty pleasure is the Real Housewives franchise. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City came to Milwaukee and drank High Life, so if it’s good enough for Real Housewives, it’s good enough for this small brewer.” —Erica DeAnda, brewmaster, Tumbled Rock Brewery and Kitchen, Baraboo, Wis.

“My guilty pleasure beer has to be a hazy IPA since we all (brewers) pretend to hate them. Wrench by Industrial Arts is always going to take it. Impressively consistent, always tasty, refreshing, always sticky! The NA version is also a secret obsession of mine right now.” —Andreina Uribe, cellarperson, Grimm Artisanal Ales, Brooklyn

“Miller Lite. It was always around growing up at friends’ parent’s houses, so there’s a nostalgia to it for me. Even then, I remember thinking it had a little more flavor than the other light beers around. It still tastes like summer weekends, cookouts, and garage beers with the homies.” —Jay Neveu, general manager, Phantom Farms Brewing, Cumberland, R.I.

“I would say Bud Heavy! When I was born, my family lived in a trailer, and there’s just something about a Bud Heavy that takes me back to those early days.” —Theo Castillo, founder and brewer, No Seasons, Miami

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