Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world and the United States. According to a 2023 Gallup Poll, 37% of Americans claimed to drink beer the most, with 31% preferring liquor and 29% opting for wine. It’s no wonder why there are so many breweries and different beer brands to choose from. Per the Brewers Association, as of 2022, there were almost 10,000 microbreweries, brewpubs, taproom breweries, and regional craft breweries, and while some do close, new ones open to take their place.
In a YouGov.com survey from 2024, people listed lager (51%), pilsner (30%), pale ale (28%), and wheat beer (27%) as their drink of choice. If you’re a wheat beer enthusiast, you’re in good company. According to the Brewers Association, U.S. and imported beer production fell 5% in 2023. The only markets that improved were small and independent brewers. Craft beer sales reached $28.9 billion in the U.S. Yet, that’s still a fraction of the $117 billion in U.S. beer sales for 2023.
When it comes to beers made using wheat there are seven categories on Beer Advocate: (For the sake of the beer rankings, we’ve removed beers classified as wheat wine.)
- American Dark Wheat
- American Pale Wheat
- Dunkelweizen
- Grodziskie
- Hefeweizen
- Kristallweizen
- Witbier
To list the only wheat beer brands you should be drinking, 24/7 Tempo analyzed reviews and ratings on Beer Advocate for each category. We then eliminated beer reviews where fewer than 100 people rated them. The best wheat beers are ranked by overall rating in descending order. (After this article, check out The Oldest Beer Crafted in the US.)
Toppling Goliath Brewing Company – Thresher

- Average Rating: 4.14
- Number of Raters: 221
- Style: American Pale Wheat
- ABV: 5.8%
This pale wheat beer comes from Decorah, Iowa. Toppling Goliath won the 2021 U.S. Beer Open Grand National Championship. It’s a brewery founded back in 2009 that produced a wheat IPA that deserved high praise. People rave over Thresher’s floral notes and hoppy finish.
Brouwerij St. Bernardus – Wit

- Average Rating: 4.15
- Number of Raters: 1,825
- Style: Witbier
- ABV: 5.5%
This Belgian beer company is well-known for its unfiltered wheat beer brewed following traditional techniques. It’s a collaboration with master brewer Pierre Celis of Hoegaarden fame. Reviewers praise it for its golden color, wheat, lemongrass, and clove notes. It’s a crushable witbier that’s good at any time of the year, but especially on hot summer days.
Perennial Artisan Ales – Funky Wit

- Average Rating: 4.18
- Number of Raters: 131
- Style: Witbier
- ABV: 5%
3 Floyds Brewing Co. – Gumballhead

- Average Rating: 4.19
- Number of Raters: 6,428
- Style: American Pale Wheat
- ABV: 5.6%
New Glarus Brewing Company – Dancing Man

- Average Rating: 4.21
- Number of Raters: 1,451
- Style: Hefeweizen
- ABV: 7.2%
Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan – Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel

- Average Rating: 4.25
- Number of Raters: 3,403
- Style: Dunkelweizen (Dark German Wheat Beer)
- ABV: 5.3%
Trillium Brewing Company – Pier American Wheat Ale

- Average Rating: 4.26
- Number of Raters: 487
- Style: American Pale Wheat
- ABV: 6.4%
Side Project Brewing – Biere Blanche

- Average Rating: 4.31
- Number of Raters: 104
- Style: Witbier
- ABV: 5%
Live Oak Brewing Company – HefeWeizen

Austin, Texas, enters the list with a hefeweizen that delivers an impressively thick head. It’s brewed to be a traditional take on Bavarian wheat beers, and it delivers in style. One whiff brings banana, clove, and vanilla to mind. It’s not an overly sweet beer, but it gets rave reviews for smelling similar to a loaf of fresh wheat bread.
- Average Rating: 4.34
- Number of Raters: 1,858
- Style: Hefeweizen
- ABV: 5.3%
Civil Society Brewing – Pulp

- Average Rating: 4.36
- Number of Raters: 288
- Style: American Pale Wheat
- ABV: 6.3%
Breweries, especially the smaller ones, change their menus randomly from one season to the next. While the best wheat beer brands may not offer what you want right now, check back. You never know when they’ll return. (Next, read about 10 Cheap Beer Brands That Are Actually Good.)