The Best Beers of the Year (So Far): Quarter 3, 2026

Welcome to TBBotY(SF), and you already know that Cactus Master is #1. Batch’s anniversary IPA put up a good fight, but Pinthouse’s first quadruple 12% IPA was always going to top the list this time around.

Aside from that, it was Oktoberfest season as you’ll see in the first table below. I agree that Katie’s Pride was my favorite this year, which was yours? And which was your favorite Picnic Party? I preferred 3, but 2 was also really good. Both show up below in their categories. Ok enough rambling, enjoy tables.

By the way we’ve been having an issue with embedded social media posts, so there aren’t any. Apologies if you enjoyed those, but they aren’t working for some reason. It’s probably Meta’s fault.

Standard disclaimer: This data comes from Untappd and is not our personal opinions. Click here to find out more about how this data is gathered.

Here are the top beers released in Central Texas from July to September, 2026!

Lager:

Brewery Beer Name Style Date Created Beer Rating More Top Beers
Meanwhile Brewing Company Picnic Party No. 2 – Espresso Martini Lager Lager – Dark July 18, 2026 4.18
Lazarus Brewing Company Katie’s Pride (2026) Märzen September 3, 2026 4.09 Big Top (2026)
Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches Marz Märzen September 12, 2026 4.06
Pinthouse Brewing Tubinger (2026) Festbier September 6, 2026 3.99
Prost Alehouse Festwerk Festbier September 13, 2026 3.96

Pilsner:

Brewery Beer Name Style Date Created Beer Rating More Top Beers
Pinthouse Brewing Timbo Pils (2026) Pilsner – American July 18, 2026 4.21 Fetch the Sun
Hold Out Brewing 60 Minutes Pilsner – Other August 16, 2026 3.93
Meanwhile Brewing Company Loaded Dice Pilsner – Other July 11, 2026 3.92
Vacancy Brewing Very Important Pils (VIP) Pilsner – American September 6, 2026 3.81
Oddwood Brewing Bucco Pilsner – Italian July 1, 2026 3.8

Pale Ale:

Brewery Beer Name Style Date Created Beer Rating More Top Beers
Pinthouse Brewing Mosaic Jungles (2026) Pale Ale – American July 19, 2026 4 Shoot the Moon
Acopon Brewing Company Mislicnes Pale Ale – American September 23, 2026 3.97
Oddwood Brewing Degeneration XPA Pale Ale – XPA (Extra Pale) July 15, 2026 3.91
Jester King Brewery Little Sasha Pale Ale – New England / Hazy July 22, 2026 3.87
Hold Out Brewing Endeavor Pale Ale – English July 11, 2026 3.81

IPA (New England / Hazy):

Brewery Beer Name Style Date Created Beer Rating More Top Beers
Pinthouse Brewing Cactus Master IPA – Quadruple August 24, 2026 4.47 Lost Wild (2026), Rogue Wave: Cenote Drifter, Rogue Wave: Dawn Patrol, Rogue Wave: Sunken Arches, Sky Magic, Frosty Bines, Thunder World (2026), Stratas Figure, For the Aura, Outback Orbit, Astronomical Implications, Ooooo Big Stretch
Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches Nine (9) IPA – New England / Hazy August 22, 2026 4.33
Jester King Brewery Pasture of the Damned (2026) IPA – New England / Hazy September 10, 2026 4.13 Lillikoi Moonfire
Zilker Brewing Company Legacy Home IPA – New England / Hazy September 16, 2026 4.05
Oddwood Brewing Invisible Sun (2026) IPA – New England / Hazy July 23, 2026 4.01

IPA (West Coast / Other):

Brewery Beer Name Style Date Created Beer Rating More Top Beers
Pinthouse Brewing Mosaic Breakdown IPA – Imperial / Double August 6, 2026 4.41 Fresh Hop Mosaic Takedown (2026), DDH Fresh Hop Green Battles (2026), Resin Ritual, Fu! – Takedown, Full Breakdown, After the Party, Battle Bender, Waves of Circumstance, Lost In the Desert
Meanwhile Brewing Company Same Day Delivery (Strata 2026) IPA – American September 15, 2026 4.17 Curious Fellow (Mosaic IPA)
Jester King Brewery Nocturne Exodus IPA – Imperial / Double September 15, 2026 4.08
Nomadic Beerworks Sailor’s Delight IPA – Imperial / Double July 25, 2026 4.06
Guadalupe Brewing Not Growing Up, Just Burning Out DIPA IPA – Imperial / Double August 21, 2026 3.96
Oddwood Brewing Sparkler IPA – American July 2, 2026 3.96

Porter / Stout / Strong Ale:

Brewery Beer Name Style Date Created Beer Rating More Top Beers
Hold Out Brewing Split the H Stout – Irish Dry August 16, 2026 3.81
That’s it. Just one stout this summer. Dark beer lovers weep.

Sour:

Brewery Beer Name Style Date Created Beer Rating More Top Beers
Real Ale Brewing Company Watermelon Whimsy Sour – Fruited Gose July 24, 2026 4.07
Meanwhile Brewing Company Picnic Party No. 3 – Mezcalita Sour Ale Sour – Other August 7, 2026 3.96 Blueberry Yuzu Sour
Pinthouse Brewing Mango Unchained Sour – Fruited September 18, 2026 3.85
Zilker Brewing Company Digital Daydream Sour – Fruited July 15, 2026 3.85 Up Up And Away
Blue Owl Brewing Early Bird Sour – Other July 26, 2026 3.67

Farmhouse:

Brewery Beer Name Style Date Created Beer Rating More Top Beers
Jester King Brewery Omniscience & Proselytism (Blend 12) Wild Ale – American August 1, 2026 4.4 Biere De Coupage (2026), From Local Lands, To Local Hands
Again, just one brewery. Saison lovers sob. (Actually I can see 3 more that didn’t get to 10 ratings, so maybe this is our fault. Oddly Sensual, Zest Intentions, and Dancing Mantis)

Belgian / Wheat:

Brewery Beer Name Style Date Created Beer Rating More Top Beers
Nomadic Beerworks Razzworthy Wheat Beer – Fruited August 14, 2026 3.94
Pinthouse Brewing Bee Kind Wheat Beer – American Pale Wheat July 10, 2026 3.92
Middleton Brewing Gold Cheek Wheat Beer – Hefeweizen July 12, 2026 3.9
Austin Beerworks Furious George Wheat Beer – Hefeweizen July 31, 2026 3.77
Cottonwood Creek Brewery Wit My Pants Wheat Beer – Witbier / Blanche July 3, 2026 3.72

Ale (Other):

Brewery Beer Name Style Date Created Beer Rating More Top Beers
Oasis Texas Brewing Company Skinny Dipper Blonde Ale Blonde / Golden Ale – American July 26, 2026 3.78
Lone Man Mountain Brewing Co. Pineapple Kolsch Kölsch July 11, 2026 3.76
Obsidian Brewery Pub Bubs Blonde / Golden Ale – English September 18, 2026 3.7
Austin Beerworks Bird-nado Blonde / Golden Ale – American July 26, 2026 3.69
Fast Friends Beer Co., Collaboration with Meanwhile Brewing Company Howdy Neighbor Brown Ale – American September 4, 2026 3.67

Specialty:

Brewery Beer Name Style Date Created Beer Rating More Top Beers
The Brewtorium – Brewery & Kitchen Big Gay Beer (2026) Fruit Beer August 6, 2026 3.85 Pumpkin Spiced Märzen
Vacancy Brewing Szeshito Chilli / Chile Beer September 18, 2026 3.8
Hi Sign Brewing Revolutionary Lager Historical Beer – Pre-Prohibition Lager July 6, 2026 3.7
Old Gregg Brewing Company Masa Negra Corn Beer / Chicha de Jora September 12, 2026 3.46

So yeah, some of these style tables were pretty light this time around. Brewers, make more weird stuff! Easy table wins!

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