Foster’s named the UK’s top summer beer, review analysis finds
New research has revealed which beer Brits most associate with summer, with Foster’s coming out on top.
The study, from Bitz.io, read written reviews for 40 of the country’s best-known lagers, ales and stouts on Amazon UK, counting the share that mentions a summer occasion such as a heatwave, a hot day, a beer garden, a barbecue or the beach. Each rate is given per 1,000 reviews, so beers with very different review counts sit on a level footing. The test was also run on Asda and Sainsbury’s reviews.
The 10 beers most associated with summer
Rank
Beer
Summer mentions per 1,000 reviews
Summer-occasion reviews
Reviews analysed
Average rating (out of 5)
1
Foster’s
119.0
10
84
4.7
2
Heineken
58.2
11
189
4.7
3
Corona Extra
58.0
13
224
4.7
4
Blue Moon
52.6
3
57
4.8
5
Madrí Excepcional
45.5
2
44
4.6
6
Coors
35.7
3
84
4.6
7
Peroni Nastro Azzurro
35.7
3
84
4.2
8
Red Stripe
33.3
2
60
4.6
9
Cobra
33.3
1
30
4.7
10
Sharp’s Doom Bar
31.2
5
160
4.7
Foster’s sits at the top, described in a summer context in 119 of every 1,000 reviews. That is more than double the rate of the next beer and about 4.41 times the field average of 27 per 1,000.
Heineken takes second place on 58.2 mentions per 1,000, with Corona Extra slightly behind on 58.0. Both land at roughly half of Foster’s rate, so the distance to the leader stays large.
Blue Moon (52.6), Madrí Excepcional (45.5), and a tie between Coors and Peroni Nastro Azzurro (35.7 each) fill out the upper end of the table.
At the other end of the scale, several household names barely register as summer drinks. Guinness is named in a summer context just 8.2 times per 1,000 reviews. San Miguel, a Spanish lager, manages only 6.9 per 1,000, and Stella Artois sits low on 13.4 off one of the largest review counts in the study.
