Best Canadian Beers: 7 Ranked by a Homebrewer, From Quebec Tripels to Molson

The best Canadian beer is Unibroue La Fin du Monde, a world-class Belgian-style tripel from Quebec that is regularly named one of the best beers on earth, and the finest beer Canada makes. That is my verdict after buying and tasting Canada’s best beers side by side, every one out of my own pocket, and scoring each on aroma, balance, body and drinkability.

I am Dan, and beer is my life. I have been an active homebrewer for over 10 years and have tasted breweries all over the world. This guide is built from my own tasting notes, with honest scores and a full review behind every pick. You can read more about me or see everything I have reviewed on my author page.

Canadian beer has two very different faces. On one side there is Unibroue, the Quebec brewery making some of the best Belgian-style ales in the world; on the other there are the big, easy macro lagers like Molson and Labatt that are woven into the national identity. Below is the best Canadian beer from both worlds, ranked together. A quick map: the Unibroue ales are strong, bottle-conditioned, fruity and spicy Belgian-style beers; and the macro lagers are the light, crisp, everyday pints of the Canadian barbecue and hockey rink. There is a Canadian beer here whether you want a world-beater or an easy cold one.

The Best Canadian Beers, Ranked

Here is the short version, ranked by how they actually taste. Full reviews are linked under each pick.

Rank	Beer	Style	ABV	Calories	Our score
1	Unibroue La Fin du Monde	Belgian-style tripel	9.0%	230	4.8/5
2	Unibroue Maudite	Belgian-style strong dark ale	8.0%	220	4.6/5
3	Unibroue Don de Dieu	Belgian-style wheat tripel	9.0%	230	4.5/5
4	Unibroue Ephemere Apple	Fruit wheat ale	5.5%	165	4.1/5
5	Moosehead Lager	Pale lager	5.0%	150	4.1/5
6	Molson Canadian	Pale lager	5.0%	150	3.9/5
7	Labatt Blue	Pilsner-style pale lager	5.0%	150	3.9/5

The Best Canadian Beers at a Glance

Swipe through the top picks and tap any card to jump straight to the full write-up.

Best Canadian Beer Overall: Unibroue La Fin du Monde

There was only ever one winner. La Fin du Monde is a world-class Belgian-style tripel from Quebec, regularly named one of the best beers on earth. It is golden, bottle-conditioned and bursting with pear, banana, clove and honey, hiding its 9% beautifully behind a dry, champagne-like sparkle. The finest beer Canada makes.

La Fin du Monde is a world-class Canadian tripel, a golden, bottle-conditioned Belgian-style ale bursting with fruit, spice and honey that hides its 9% beautifully.

Serve it right: A big, rich stout shows best in a stemmed tulip or snifter that traps the aroma and lets you swirl it. This is the glass for imperial and barrel-aged stouts you want to sip slowly.

• Also worth trying: Unibroue Don de Dieu

Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our best Belgian beers guide.

Best Canadian Strong Ale: Unibroue Maudite

For a rich, dark, warming Canadian ale, Maudite is superb. It is a Belgian-style strong dark ale, deep amber-red with dark fruit, caramel and a spicy yeast character, bottle-conditioned at 8%. It drinks like a Canadian cousin of the great Belgian abbey beers. A proper cool-weather sipper.

Maudite is a rich Canadian Belgian-style strong dark ale, a deep amber-red beer full of dark fruit, caramel and warming spice, bottle-conditioned at 8%.

Serve it right: A big, rich stout shows best in a stemmed tulip or snifter that traps the aroma and lets you swirl it. This is the glass for imperial and barrel-aged stouts you want to sip slowly.

• Also worth trying: Unibroue La Fin du Monde

Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our Don de Dieu review.

Best Canadian Wheat Beer: Unibroue Don de Dieu

For a wheat beer with real depth, Don de Dieu is a strong Belgian-style wheat tripel. It blends the creamy softness of a wheat beer with the fruit, spice and warmth of a tripel at 9%, a rounder, silkier cousin of La Fin du Monde. If you find some tripels sharp, this smoother version is the answer.

Don de Dieu is a strong Canadian wheat tripel, a smooth, hazy golden ale that blends the creamy softness of a wheat beer with the fruit, spice and warmth of a tripel at 9%.

Serve it right: A big, rich stout shows best in a stemmed tulip or snifter that traps the aroma and lets you swirl it. This is the glass for imperial and barrel-aged stouts you want to sip slowly.

• Also worth trying: Unibroue Ephemere Apple

Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our Ephemere Apple review.

Best Canadian Lager: Moosehead

For an easy Canadian lager with a bit of soul, Moosehead is the pick. From Canada’s oldest independent brewery, it is a smooth, clean, refreshing pale lager with a touch more character than the big macro names, and a proud independent story behind it. A likeable, reliable pint.

Moosehead Lager is Canada’s classic independent lager, a smooth, clean, easy-drinking pale lager from the country’s oldest independent brewery.

Serve it right: A classic dry or milk stout is made for a proper pint glass, poured to build a thick, creamy head. This is a best-reviewed everyday set.

• Also worth trying: Molson Canadian

Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our best lager beers guide.

Best Everyday Canadian Beer: Molson Canadian

For the iconic, easy Canadian cold one, it has to be Molson Canadian. It is a light, crisp, clean pale lager and a genuine national institution, the beer poured at every Canadian barbecue and hockey game. Nothing fancy, but a proper part of the national furniture.

Molson Canadian is Canada’s most iconic mainstream lager, a light, crisp, clean pale lager that is a national institution built for easy, patriotic drinking.

Serve it right: A classic dry or milk stout is made for a proper pint glass, poured to build a thick, creamy head. This is a best-reviewed everyday set.

• Also worth trying: Labatt Blue

Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our Labatt Blue review.

Explore More Beer Guides

Want to go wider? These guides cover the rest of the beer world:

• Best beers (all our guides)
• Best Belgian beers
• Best American beers
• Best lager beers

Canadian Beer FAQs

What is the most famous Canadian beer?

Molson Canadian and Labatt Blue are Canada’s most famous mainstream lagers, woven into national identity. But the best-regarded Canadian beers come from Unibroue in Quebec, whose La Fin du Monde is regularly ranked among the best beers in the world.

Why does Unibroue make Belgian-style beers?

Unibroue, based in Chambly, Quebec, built its reputation on strong, bottle-conditioned, Belgian-inspired ales using distinctive yeast and refermentation in the bottle. Quebec’s French heritage and Unibroue’s founders drove that European, Belgian-leaning style.

What is the difference between Molson Canadian and Labatt Blue?

Both are light, crisp Canadian macro lagers. Molson Canadian is a clean pale lager, while Labatt Blue is a pilsner-style lager with a slightly fruitier note. They are close rivals and both national favourites.

Which is Canada’s oldest independent brewery?

Moosehead, in New Brunswick, is Canada’s oldest independent brewery and remains family-owned, while Molson and Labatt are now part of global groups.

How We Test and Score

Every beer here was bought with my own money and tasted properly, not skimmed from a spec sheet. I score each on aroma, balance, body, drinkability and how well it does the job it is built for. Simple beers are not marked down for being simple, but the ones with real character and balance score higher. You can see every score on the individual beer reviews.