Unearth The Voyage
America’s craft beer scene is overflowing with icons, hype machines, and evergreen classics that changed how we drink. We sifted ratings, awards, and cultural impact to rank the country’s most celebrated brews by both popularity and quality. From pioneering pale ales to white-whale stouts and grocery-aisle hazies, these beers prove why the U.S. remains a global craft leader. Ready to discover the bottles and cans that truly deserve the buzz?
1. Pliny the Elder – Russian River Brewing Company (California)
Pliny the Elder is a year-round double IPA that’s still treated as the gold standard for West Coast hop bombs. BeerAdvocate currently gives it a score of 100 with well over 15,000 ratings. It also consistently appears toward the very top of both BeerAdvocate’s Top 250 and Zymurgy’s Best Beers in America lists, cementing its status as one of the most celebrated IPAs in the world. Expect resinous pine, grapefruit rind, and a crisp, dry finish that demands another sip. Balanced bitterness and bright aromatics make it a benchmark for brewers and fans alike.
2. Heady Topper – The Alchemist (Vermont)
Heady Topper is an unfiltered double IPA that helped kick off the modern haze craze. It carries a 100 score on BeerAdvocate with more than 15,000 ratings, and is brewed year-round in Vermont. National press has repeatedly described it as one of the best IPAs in the world, with flavors of orange, tropical fruit, grapefruit, pine, and spice, and a reputation that spread far beyond New England. Its fresh, raw hop character and soft mouthfeel made lines form around the block. Drink it straight from the can, as the brewery suggests, to preserve its aromatic intensity.
3. Two Hearted Ale – Bell’s Brewery (Michigan)
Two Hearted is a single-hop IPA built entirely on Centennial hops – grapefruit, pine, and floral notes over a clean malt base. BeerAdvocate scores it in the mid-90s with tens of thousands of ratings. In Zymurgy’s Best Beers in America survey of homebrewers, Two Hearted has been ranked number one beer in America multiple years running, beating Pliny the Elder after years of coming second. Its reliability, balance, and fresh hop punch make it a fridge staple from Great Lakes bars to national shelves. Few beers manage this mix of broad availability and elite critical acclaim.
4. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (California)
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a true craft pioneer. Brewed since 1980, it’s a Cascade-hop showcase that helped define American pale ale – bright grapefruit and pine layered over toasty malt. In Zymurgy’s Best Beers in America, it regularly lands in the top three alongside Two Hearted and Pliny, and it’s still widely praised decades after its release. The beer’s balance, firm bitterness, and crisp drinkability made it a gateway for generations. Its iconic green label, consistent quality, and broad distribution keep it relevant in an ever-evolving IPA world.
5. Allagash White – Allagash Brewing Company (Maine)
Allagash White is a cloudy, Belgian-style wheat beer brewed with oats, malted and raw wheat, plus coriander and Curaçao orange peel. Allagash tallied results from the World Beer Cup, Great American Beer Festival, and European Beer Star and found White has earned 18 medals, which Forbes and other outlets report makes it the most award-winning wheat beer in the world. It’s citrusy, gently spiced, and endlessly refreshing, with a silky texture that invites repeat pours. Whether paired with seafood or sipped solo, it embodies American craftsmanship meeting Belgian tradition with remarkable consistency.
6. Julius – Tree House Brewing Company (Massachusetts)
Julius is Tree House’s flagship hazy IPA – pillowy body, saturated with mango, orange, and peach. On BeerAdvocate it holds a 100 score with thousands of ratings, and on Untappd it’s one of the highest-rated hazy IPAs with well over 150,000 check-ins. Tree House itself calls Julius a craft beer icon that’s famous for turning casual drinkers into hazy-IPA converts. The saturated hop aroma and soft carbonation make every sip juicy yet balanced. Fans chase can releases for good reason – freshness amplifies its expressive tropical character and signature glow.
7. Kentucky Brunch Brand Stout – Toppling Goliath Brewing Company (Iowa)
Released in tiny quantities, Kentucky Brunch Brand Stout is one of the most sought-after whale beers in the U.S. BeerAdvocate gives it a perfect 100 score, and it currently sits at number one on BeerAdvocate’s Top 250 Rated Beers list. Brewed with coffee and aged in bourbon barrels, it’s repeatedly described as intensely rich – espresso, maple syrup, chocolate, and oak in a dense, dessert-like stout. Lines, lotteries, and secondary-market prices underscore its cult status. For collectors and stout lovers, it represents the pinnacle of indulgent pastry-adjacent barrel aging.
8. Bourbon County Brand Stout (Original) – Goose Island Beer Co. (Illinois)
Goose Island’s Bourbon County Brand Stout is widely hailed as the world’s first bourbon barrel-aged stout, created in the early 1990s and credited with redefining the possibilities of barrel-aged beer. Today it’s a Black Friday ritual in Chicago and beyond, with the Original stout anchoring a lineup of variants that still attract national coverage every year. Expect layers of chocolate, vanilla, oak, and dark fruit with warming alcohol. Regardless of ownership debates, its historic influence and annual excitement remain undeniable, making it essential to any conversation about American barrel-aged beer culture.
9. Zombie Dust – 3 Floyds Brewing Co. (Indiana)
Zombie Dust is a Citra-hop showcase that many drinkers consider the American pale ale: huge grapefruit and tropical fruit over a lightly sweet malt base. On BeerAdvocate it holds a 100 score with more than 11,000 ratings and is ranked at the very top of its style category. It also routinely appears in best-beer lists, and has built a cult following far beyond 3 Floyds’ home region. Its comic-style label and explosive aromatics helped cement its legend. Fresh cans are irresistibly zesty, balancing dank, citrusy hops with just enough malt to stay dangerously drinkable.
10. Jai Alai IPA – Cigar City Brewing (Florida)
Jai Alai helped put Florida on the craft-beer map. BeerAdvocate rates it 95 with thousands of reviews. Cigar City describes it as bursting with tangerine, clementine, and candied orange peel backed by caramel malt and firm bitterness, and Craft Beer & Brewing’s editors give it a 97 out of 100 review score – evidence of both popularity and critical respect. Its tropical-citrus punch and balanced bite made it a national favorite, widely distributed yet still exciting. Pair it with spicy dishes to let its bold hop character shine.
11. Pseudo Sue – Toppling Goliath Brewing Company (Iowa)
Pseudo Sue is a single-hop Citra pale ale that’s become a modern classic. BeerAdvocate scores it 99 with thousands of ratings. The brewery describes it as well-balanced and delicate in body with grapefruit, citrus, mango, and evergreen aromas, and reviewers regularly call it a benchmark for hop-forward pale ales that still stay easy-drinking. Its approachable ABV and bright aromatics make it a weeknight winner and a sharing favorite. Freshness boosts its zingy citrus pop, while a gentle malt cushion keeps the finish clean and inviting.
12. Speedway Stout – AleSmith Brewing Company (California)
Speedway Stout is a long-standing icon in the imperial stout world. BeerAdvocate gives it a 97 score, with thousands of reviews over many years. AleSmith highlights its chocolate and roasted malt profile, supported by dark fruit, toffee, caramel, and a healthy dose of locally roasted coffee; reviewers and publications like Wine Enthusiast consistently praise it as a benchmark coffee stout. Its velvety body and crema-like foam echo an espresso experience. Cellar it to let fudge, molasses, and oak notes emerge, or enjoy fresh for bold coffee intensity.
13. Focal Banger – The Alchemist (Vermont)
Focal Banger is Heady Topper’s equally legendary sibling – a hazy, intensely aromatic IPA. On BeerAdvocate it carries a 100 score with thousands of ratings. Reviews describe loads of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, and pine, and beer media have called it dangerously delicious, noting its high ratings and the same cult aura as Heady. Its lively carbonation and clean bitterness make the juice pop without heaviness. For many fans, it’s the perfect intersection of classic American hop bite and modern hazy softness, delivering clarity of flavor in a cloudy pour.
14. Hazy Little Thing IPA – Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (California)
Hazy Little Thing helped drag hazy IPA from taproom hype into mainstream grocery coolers. BeerAdvocate lists it as a New England IPA with a solid very good score in the high 80s, and thousands of ratings. More importantly for this list, 2024 Nielsen data cited by Men’s Journal show it as the top-selling hazy IPA in the U.S., the number two best-selling IPA overall, and the number three best-selling craft beer brand. It delivers plush tropical notes, approachable bitterness, and consistent freshness nationwide, turning hazy into an everyday staple.
15. Wisconsin Belgian Red – New Glarus Brewing Company (Wisconsin)
Wisconsin Belgian Red is a cherry-packed fruit beer that’s almost mythic among U.S. beer nerds. BeerAdvocate rates it 97, putting it among the very top fruit beers in the world. New Glarus brews it with whole Montmorency cherries, Wisconsin-grown wheat, Belgian roasted barley, and Hallertau hops, lagered in oak tanks – reviewers describe it as cherry pie in a glass, and multiple outlets score it in the 90s or higher. Its ruby glow and creamy foam are irresistible. Sweet-tart cherry depth and gentle oak make it a dessert pairing dream.
16. Samuel Adams Boston Lager – Boston Beer Company (Massachusetts)
Boston Lager is the beer that introduced a lot of Americans to better beer in the 1980s. The Samuel Adams site notes it was first brewed in 1984, when there were fewer than 100 breweries in the U.S., and says Boston Lager helped pave the way for the American craft beer revolution. BeerAdvocate classifies it as a Vienna lager, and history pieces credit Samuel Adams with leading the American craft-beer boom while becoming one of the most award-winning and widely recognized craft brands in the country. Expect toasty malt, floral hops, and crisp balance.
