Landmark Beers

This page exists to honor individual beers that have left a lasting mark on American brewing and drinking culture, and recognizes those singular brews that have helped define, advance, or transform the craft beer movement in the U.S.  It’s helpful to look at beers that didn’t just become popular—but actually shaped brewing practices, pushed boundaries, or paved the way for entire styles or movements. 

In order to choose which beers might wear this mantle, it was necessary to set parameters by which they might be measured:

  • They helped increase awareness and popularity of craft beer in America.

  • They changed the way Americans looked at beer.

  • They introduced new and exciting beer styles in America.

  • They set a benchmark for the style or process

These Landmark Craft Beers are determined by the Hall’s distinguished group of Advisors and Electors, with additional input from the beer-drinking public.

 

2025 Landmark Beers

This inaugural class of Landmark Beers includes five foundational brews in the American craft beer industry. 

●Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - The beer that brought Cascade hops to national prominence and helped define the American Pale Ale style.

●Samuel Adams Boston Lager – An icon that helped to bring full-flavored beer to mainstream audiences in the 1980s and put American craft beer on the global map.

●Anchor Steam Beer – The resurrection of a truly American beer style, and one that helped define the image and concept of craft beer for decades to come.

●Celis White – A revival of a nearly extinct Belgian style that brought traditional wheat beer to American craft drinkers.

● Anchor Liberty Ale – An early pioneer in the creation of the modern concept of American IPA, and an early standard bearer for what would become the country’s most important style of beer.