YouGov’s UK Alcoholic Beverage Rankings 2026 examines the brands that UK adults aged 18 and over would consider purchasing the next time they buy an alcoholic drink, spanning beer, cider, spirits and liqueurs. The rankings also assess which brands consumers perceive as offering the best value and quality.
Diageo-owned brand Guinness ranked first overall in the rankings, with 28% of UK adults saying they would consider drinking the brand the next time they are in the market to purchase alcoholic beverages.
Guinness also topped the quality and value rankings with a net value score of 14.5 and a net quality score of 45.1. The result means Guinness combines the highest overall scores for Consideration, Value and Quality among all brands.
Italian beer Peroni ranked second for consideration at 23%, followed by Birra Moretti at 20.9%. Kopparberg was fourth with 18%, while Baileys, the Diageo-owned liqueur, rounded out the top five at 17.9%.
The remaining brands in the top 10 included San Miguel at 17.1%, Thatchers at 16.2%, Corona at 15.5%, Stella Artois at 14.8%, and Gordon’s at 13.7%.
Smirnoff, Heineken, Rekorderlig, Madri, Old Mout, Asahi Super Dry, Bombay Sapphire, Inch’s Cider, Jack Daniel’s, and Estrella Damm also featured in the top 20.
The rankings also highlighted brands that have improved most with consumers over the year.
Hawkstone, the beer founded by TV celebrity and journalist Jeremy Clarkson, recorded the largest valid year-on-year gain in consideration score, rising 4.5 percentage points to 9.3% among UK adults aged 18+.
Spanish lager Cruzcampo, which was launched in the UK by Heineken in 2023, follows with a 3.5-point gain, while Thatchers cider rises 3.3 points, Asahi Super Dry gains 3.2 points, and Birra Moretti increased by 3.1 points.
The rest of the top 10 included Inch’s Cider, (+3 points) Guinness, (+2.9 points) Corona (+2.6 points), Kopparberg (+2.6 points) and Peroni (+2.5 points).
The findings are based on YouGov BrandIndex data collected between 1 September 2025 and 31 August 2026 among more than 19,840 UK adults aged 18 and over.
Year-on-year comparisons were measured against data collected between 1 September 2024 and 31 August 2025 from more than 26,381 respondents.
