The IPA still remains the king of American craft beer. Despite facing some backlash in recent years, IPAs still account for nearly half of U.S. craft beer sales — 46% in 2022. Its continued popularity has sparked a sea of variations on the style over the years: New England-Style IPA, Double IPA, Triple IPA, Session IPA, Brut IPA, Lo-Cal IPA and so on.
Out of Beer Advocate’s top 15-rated US beers, a third are IPAs. But these are the white whales most of us can’t get hands-on — Pliny the Younger, King Julius, Heady Topper. These beers require traveling to breweries on release days or ponying up for them online. But you don’t have to hunt these rarities down though to enjoy a good IPA. The beauty of America’s love of the IPA is that you can get a good one just about anywhere (even online). And the following 15 IPAs are about as reliable — and available — as IPAs get.
Additional reporting by Jack Seemer, Johnny Brayson and Will Price.
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Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Hazy Little Thing Read More -
Bell’s Brewery Two Hearted Ale Read More
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New Belgium Brewing Voodoo Ranger Read More
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Dogfish Head Brewery 60 Minute IPA Read More
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Founders Brewing Co. All Day IPA Read More
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Hazy Little Thing
- ABV: 6.7%
- IBU: 35
- Brewery Location: Chico, CA
While Sierra Nevada’s iconic Pale Ale fits the guidelines for this list, the California brewery’s Hazy Little Thing falls more in line with today’s IPA tastes. This New England-Style IPA is citrusy and fresh thanks to a combination of Citra, Magnum, Simcoe, Comet, Mosaic and El Dorado hops. When it comes to a Hazy IPA you can find in your grocery store, we find ourselves gravitating to this one more often than not.
Bell’s Brewery Two Hearted Ale
- ABV: 7%
- IBU: 55
- Brewery Location: Kalamazoo, MI
There’s a reason Bell’s Two Hearted Ale was voted by Zymurgy readers as the “Best Beer in America” for four consecutive years: it’s the definition of an American IPA and you can get it just about everywhere. Unlike the other beers on this list, Two Hearted Ale features just a single hop, Centennial, which gives it a floral taste and smell. If you’re counting calories, check out the more recently released Light Hearted Ale.
New Belgium Brewing Voodoo Ranger
- ABV: 7%
- IBU: 50
- Brewery Location: Fort Collins, CO
While New Belgium became known years ago for Fat Tire (and then its incredible sour program), Voodoo Ranger took the beer world by storm when it was re-launched in 2017 as a unified series. New Belgium now produces at least five distinct Voodoo Ranger variants but the flagship IPA version is an excellent, clean-tasting IPA hopped with Mosaic and Amarillo (among Nugget, Cascade, Simcoe and Chinook).
Dogfish Head Brewery 60 Minute IPA
- ABV: 6%
- IBU: 60
- Brewery Location: Milton, DE
Led by the vision of Sam Calagione, winner of a 2017 James Beard Award, Dogfish Head makes what it calls “off-centered ales for off-centered people.” Its 60-Minute IPA may be the most centered beer in Caglione’s repertoire, however, as the impeccably balanced 17-year-old beer remains relevant as ever. It’s light gold in color, moderately bitter and incredibly crisp.
Founders Brewing Co. All Day IPA
- ABV: 4.7%
- IBU: 42
- Brewery Location: Grand Rapids, MI
While All Day IPA might have been the most successful session beer in the country at one time, Founders Brewing Co. has had a fall from grace after a 2019 lawsuit in which they were accused of discrimination against employees. Abhorrent as that is, the liquid itself stands up. At just 4.7 percent ABV, it’s light in both body and mouthfeel, though surprisingly complex for a beer of its gravity. It also launched the now-standard 15-pack. But it may eventually be left behind in the dust as more Lo-Cal IPAs continue to be launched (All Day has 147 calories).
Stone IPA
- ABV: 6.9%
- IBU: 71
- Brewery Location: Escondido, CA
Founded in 1996 in Escondido, California, Stone Brewing has become one of the most respected craft brewers in the world. While the “Enjoy By” series and Neverending Haze have recently garnered praise from beer drinkers across the country, it’s the 20-plus-year-old IPA, which features eight different hops, that helped put West Coast IPAs on the map. It leans a little more on the hoppy bitter end of the spectrum, but it’s still very much a leader in the traditional IPA category.
Lagunitas Brewing Company IPA
- ABV: 6.9%
- IBU: 71
- Brewery Location: Escondido, CA
Lagunitas IPA might be the one beer on this list you can find just about anywhere you look — on tap and in bottles. Thanks to being owned by Heineken, even the diviest of dive bars oftentimes have a keg of this balanced IPA. The hop bitterness of this IPA is married perfectly with a caramel malt body that mellows out the hops and brings forward more of the citrusy flavors.
Firestone Walker Brewing Company Mind Haze
- ABV: 6.2%
- IBU: 40
- Brewery Location: Paso Robles, CA
Firestone Walker was one of the first nationally distributed breweries to find success with a shelf-stable hazy IPA. This tropically-flavored IPA is brewed with Cashmere and Mandarina hops and then dry-hopped with El Dorado, Idaho 7, Azacca, Mosaic and Cashmere.
Brooklyn Brewery East IPA
- ABV: 6.9%
- IBU: 47
- Brewery Location: Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Brewery’s Garrett Oliver is a student of English brewing. As such, the iconic brewery’s East IPA (which became a year-round offering in 1996) blends British tradition with American innovation. British malt balances out the blend of hops quite well, creating a toffee malt palate and a clean hoppy finish.
Cigar City Brewing Jai Alai
- ABV: 7.5%
- IBU: 65
- Brewery Location: Tampa, FL
If tropical Florida vibes were an IPA, it’d be Jai Alai. It’s bright and citrusy thanks to an impeccable blend of seven different hops. A standout for quite some time, it’s now readily available due to an ever-expanding distribution network from Cigar City.
Goose Island IPA
- ABV: 5.9%
- IBU: 55
- Brewery Location: Chicago, IL
Goose Island’s flagship IPA harkens back to a little more of the piney, bitter IPAs. That’s thanks to the use of some more characteristically resiny hops like Pilgrim, Celeia, Cascade and Centennial. A grapefruit-like citrus is to be found though with a smooth flavor and a moderate lingering bitterness.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Torpedo Extra IPA
- ABV: 7.2%
- IBU: 65
- Brewery Location: Chico, CA
The second IPA from Sierra Nevada on this list, Torpedo Extra IPA gets its name from a dry-hopping device Sierra Nevada invented in 2009 called the Hop Torpedo. This essentially circulates beer with hops in a way that imparts flavor without bitterness. The beer itself, hopped with Magnum, Crystal and Citra varietals, is darker than most IPAs with notes of pine and citrus and less perceived bitterness than Pale Ale (despite a higher grading on the IBUs scale).
Firestone Walker Brewing Company Hopnosis
- ABV: 6.7%
- IBU: 45
- Brewery Location: Paso Robles, CA
Our pick for the best new beer of 2022, Hopnosis is the result of decades of IPA evolution in America. It takes the best of OG West Coast IPA qualities (resiny, piney) and combines them with the modern-day IPA's best qualities (tropical, fruity). This is made possible by utilizing Mosaic Cryo Hops, which are cryogenically frozen to create a more flavorful hop pellet. And yes, you can get this innovation just about anywhere.
Deschutes Fresh Squeezed
- ABV: 6.4%
- IBU: 60
- Brewery Location: Bend, OR
Deschutes is one of those breweries that many people sleep on — despite them being over three decades old. But did you know they're sold in 32 states? That means the flagship IPA Fresh Squeezed is just a trip to the store away for the majority of Americans. Leaning on one of the best hop combos ever (Citra + Mosaic), it's a beer that's easy-drinking and that balances that old-school West Coast flavor with some dialed-down bitterness in favor of modern fruit flavors like passionfruit (plus a little bit of maltiness, to boot).
Toppling Goliath King Sue
- ABV: 7.8%
- IBU: 100
- Brewery Location: Decorah, IA
Years ago, Toppling Goliath's King Sue would have been applicable for a list of white whale beers instead of grocery store IPAs. But thanks to expansion and a distribution network of 30 states, this legendary New England-style IPA can now be found pretty handily. It's definitely on the imperial scale, but the high IBUs can be a little deceiving as it's strictly hopped with Citra for a blast of tropical fruitiness that's bound to appeal to IPA lovers far and wide.
