The Best IPAs of 2020
December 27, 2020
For us, the IPA is the pizza of the beer world. You can change the ingredients, you can make it simpler or heavier, you can make it crisper or softer… but as long as the basic formula is the same, we will love it no matter what. (Also, like pizza slices, it’s difficult to have just one IPA.) Below is a list of the best IPAs we had in 2020. Not all of them were introduced to the market last year, but just like with our lists of the best sour beers of 2020 and the best stouts of 2020, we’re basing our list on date of consumption, not on date of initial creation.
Also like our other lists, we’re only allowing ourselves to put one beer per brewery. It was difficult enough cutting down the hundreds and hundreds of IPAs we had this year down to such a short list, choosing individual beers from breweries like Monkish, Bissell Brothers, Russian River, Moonraker, etc.? Why do we punish ourselves so? Yet while there are so many we’ve had that are worthy of being on the list, these forty IPAs stand out as the ones we simply can’t leave off.
We’ve heard praise for 3 Sons, a Fort Lauderdale-area micro brewery, all the way on the West Coast, but we’d never had a chance to try any of their beer until 2020. Our first exposure was a monster: Green Gorilla, a 10.1% ABV hazy triple double dry hopped with strata. Thick and juicy with a nice dank finish, this beer had us paraphrasing the movie Training Day– “King Kong ain’t got nothing on Green Gorilla.” Now we’re wondering if our grandparents in South Florida are interested in working as craft beer mules…
Adroit Theory: Dead + Gone (Ghost 867)
Ever since our first visit to Adroit Theory’s taproom in Purcellville in 2018, they’ve been a regular in our Best Of lists since the site began. This year was no different, as they make the Best IPAs list for the second year running. We had a few options to choose from, but we ultimately settled on Dead + Gone (Ghost 867), a soft hazy with explosions of papaya and mango dangerously disguising a 10% ABV. Careful not to get lost in the juicy flavor and crush too many of these— or you too will be dead and gone.
We finally got our hands on a can of fresh American Solera in LA in 2020, and it absolutely lived up to the hype. Terpy Galaxy is a fantastic galaxy-hopped double IPA, delivering strong doses of passionfruit and citrus, yet never slipping into the trap of become pure fruit juice. It’s still unmistakably a beer, and it makes for one hell of an outdoor sipper during the summer, with its creamy texture helping its 8% ABV slide under the radar. We’re hopeful we can get more access to American Solera in 2021– or that a helpful Oklahoma resident will hook us up with some trades… *fingers crossed*
Bearded Iris Brewing: Homestyle
Last year, we selected Bearded Iris’s Double Homestyle for Best Beer in Tennessee… but this year was our first time drinking fresh Homestyle, the OG that spawned the double. We loved it so much and bought so many 4-packs that we went ahead and bought proper Bearded Iris glassware. If that’s not an endorsement, then we don’t know what is. It’s one of the great single-hop IPAs we’ve ever had, a flawlessly balanced Mosaic marvel that’s soft, crushable, and fragrant with the perfect kick of hop bitterness at the end. It’s near the very top of our Must Buy list.
“Swish, like Julius and Heady Topper, rarely make their way west outside of trades, so drinking fresh pours of it was a dream. It’s dangerously smooth with big citrus taste and a wonderful pine finish.” Read more about this beer in our Juicy Brews Beach Party coverage.
Butler Brew Works: Satellite Surfer
We ordered a box from Fresh Fest Digi Fest last year, our first experience with a virtual beer festival– and our first experience supporting Fresh Fest Beer Fest, the country’s first Black beer festival that we’d been wanting to attend in person since its conception. Most everything that arrived was very good, but the standout of our selections was Satellite Surfer, a hazy IPA collaboration between Butler Brew Works and Union Craft Brewing that’s sweet at the start and grassy at the finish. We’re looking forward to hopefully getting to support this festival again in the future, as it put several black-owned breweries we’d never encountered before on our radar.
“Their big double and triple hazies are eye-poppingly good, but we favored the simplicity and the perfection of Cosmic Jungle, a Citra and Galaxy hazy IPA that’s smooth, tropical, and worthy of a third year of Casa Agria Best Of inclusion.” Read more about this beer in our Best California Beers of 2020 coverage.
Celestial Beerworks: Technical Skillset
We raved about Celestial Beerworks in our recent brewery guide to Dallas, writing that they have the best IPAs in Dallas… but they honestly may have the best IPAs in the whole state of Texas. (And considering the caliber of several of the IPA-makers in Texas, that’s really saying something.) As we said in our guide, Technical Skillset is “an unreal banger of a triple IPA: intensely fruity and incredibly soft with a well-disguised 10% ABV.” We could’ve honestly put any of the IPAs we had at Celestial– and we’re very excited for the next time we can get our hands on this delicious haze.
“Tropicália, a smooth, medium-bodied, fairly crushable IPA… presents a fruit-forward profile without becoming too sweet or losing too much of the classic IPA bite. Creature Comforts continues climbing the ladder of the best IPA makers in the country.” Read more about this beer in our Juicy Brews Beach Party coverage.
To be honest, we’d never be inclined to reach for something called a “honey cream double IPA.” That just doesn’t sound like it’d be our style. That said, we don’t love most fruited sours either, but the mad geniuses at Drekker Brewing make some of the best of those in the country, so we figured we’d give Supreme Bee a whirl– and we’re very glad we did. Yes, it’s a little creamy, and it’s got a lot of honey… but the triple dry hopping keeps the beer from getting too sweet, and it strikes exactly the right chord. With beers like Supreme Bee, Drekker shows its buzz (we’re sorry) is well-earned.
Ecliptic is one of our favorite breweries in Portland, and we’ve recently seen their cans popping up more frequently in our local bottle shops, so we’ve had a chance to dive back into their beer some even without being able to visit Portland in 2020. While we’ve enjoyed their IPAs over the year– we wrote in our brewery hop guide to Portland that they made some of our favorite IPAs in the city– they’ve outdone themselves with Vega #7, a Strata, Motueka, and Belma hopped hazy with berry, peach, and mango juice and a nice bite at the end. It’s the best beer we’ve had from them yet, and it leaves us even more excited for a return trip to Portland.
We’ve sung the praises of Flatland’s stouts for the last two years on this site, but it’s high time we start letting people know about their IPAs as well. Broseidon is a very hop-forward hazy that’ll leave you swimming in Galaxy and Rakau juice before it smacks you with a crisp, bitter finish. We only ever get to Elk Grove on our way to Lake Tahoe, but we’re excited for our pass-through next summer (and we also recently found out they’ll ship anywhere in California, a bonus for those who don’t get a chance to make that drive!) for more tasty haze.
We spent a few weeks in Arizona this fall– keep an eye out for our full brewery guides in early 2021, or check out some of our photos of the trip on Instagram!– and during our Phoenix excursion, we were fortunate to be staying in Scottsdale right by Goldwater Brewing. Goldwater makes great beer across a variety of styles, but Hop Chowda was a definite highlight. It’s smooth, citrusy, and juicy without getting too sweet, making it easy to throw back several of these while chilling on their spacious patio.
Humble Sea: Jean Fog Van Dayum
“Anyone who knows Russell knows his deep love for junky action movies, so the Jean Fog Van Dayum won him over before he took a single sip, and luckily, this tropical wonder lived up to its name and dropkicked our tastebuds– it’s a beer so good, you could say it had a Double Impact (we’re sorry).” Read more about this beer in our Best California Beers of 2020 coverage.
Imagine Nation Brewing: Liminal Space All Citra
It’s been far too long since our last hiking trip to Montana– and the great work from the folks at Imagine Nation Brewing are giving us extra incentive to return in 2021. Their brewery is not only helping create positive change by hosting a center for community transformation, but also creating some of the best beer in the state. In fact, we checked our spreadsheet, and Liminal Space All Citra is the highest ranked IPA from Montana we’ve ever had. This luscious, pillowy, and tropical beer is one of the best we’ve had all year, period– and we’re incredibly excited to visit them in person next time we swing through Missoula.
Kern River Brewing: Think Tank #20
“Their Think Tank #20 was one of our first cans of the year (fresh off a New Year’s visit to the brewery itself), and while it’s unfiltered, don’t mistake it for a “hazy” in the traditional sense– it’s a hop bomb with bright Rakau hop flavor and a dry finish.” Read more about this beer in our Best California Beers of 2020 coverage.
Lost Forty Brewing: Trash Panda IPA
Lost Forty made our Best Beer From Arkansas last year… but admittedly, we’d only had one beer from Arkansas. This year, we set out to change that, and thanks to a kind trading partner, we got a great sample of some of the best Arkansas has to offer. While a few beers from Arkansas deserved attention– R.I.P. to East Sixth Brewing, a really good Arkansas brewery that was forced to close recently– we found ourselves gravitating back to Lost Forty’s IPAs. The Trash Panda is smooth but a bit fuller in mouthfeel than some of the lighter hazies, giving real heft to its grapefruit and mango juiciness. We’ve no doubt Lost Forty will be in the running for Best Beer From Arkansas again in 2021.
Hooey, Year Two-ey: this marks the second straight year that we’ve included Lupulin’s unfiltered masterwork in our year-end Best Of list. It’s one of the beers we return to whenever we get the chance, and it’s always the same: strong, rich aroma, medium-bodied dank juice, exceptional balance. As we said in the 2019 Great American Beer Festival, “The aromas are so wonderfully fragrant that you can smell the hops while the person standing next to you is drinking it.” Don’t be surprised if Hooey’s back on the list in 2021.
Maplewood Brewery: Juice Pants
Speaking of annual IPA staples, Maplewood returns to this list for the second year in a row. Chicago haze has (deservedly) been cleaning up at Great American Beer Festival since they introduced New England IPA categories, and we’d rank Maplewood’s hazies right alongside the most heralded the city has to offer. Son of Juice is a standard must-order at this house, and while we weren’t able to snag any of that in 2020, its danker big brother Juice Pants more than sufficed as a replacement– and we’ll definitely be seeking out more Maplewood next year.
Mile Wide Beer Company: Magic Number
Since we live in Los Angeles, it’s been a long time since we’ve had a chance to visit Kentucky– and since Kentucky beers aren’t often distributed on the West Coast, we usually get our fix of Kentucky beer via trade. This year, our porchbomb from Kentucky contained our first cans of Mile Wide Beer Company, and they were definite standouts. We’ve enjoyed IPAs from a few different Kentucky breweries over the years, but Magic Number from Mile Wide Beer Company might be the best IPA we’ve ever had from the Bluegrass State, a triple NE IPA with terrific balance and absurd smoothness for a 10%. They’ll be at the top of our request list in future trades with Kentucky beer friends.
Modist Brewing: DDH Galaxy Dreamyard
We’ve ordered so much Modist from Tavour over the years, and we’ve so consistently enjoyed their work, that we were surprised to find they hadn’t made our Best IPAs list in years past. Well, we’re finally rectifying that omission in 2020. DDH Galaxy Dreamyard is, as you may expect, their Dreamyard IPA double dry hopped with Galaxy. It’s juicy and oat-y with a light body and a dry finish– and, like all Modist IPAs we’ve had to date, is absolutely delicious. Until we make a trip to Minneapolis, we’ll keep stacking our Tavour boxes with Modist. It’s a must.
Monkish Brewing: Isolation Oscillation
“We enjoyed more Monkish than ever this year, and it’s tough to choose, but Isolation Oscillation was a DDH DIPA with rich citra hops and oat-driven creaminess. Our notes simply read, “It’s Monkish.”” Read more about this beer in our Best California Beers of 2020 coverage.
“Moonraker’s Extremis and Slice’s Wombo both have monstrously strong, resinous pine flavor… but remain surprisingly drinkable with impressively clean finishes. Both of them absolutely hold their own against renowned west coast triples like Pliny the Younger.” Read more about this beer in our Best California Beers of 2020 coverage.
More Brewing: Raspberry Marbles
It’s been a little over a year since More Brewing stood out as one of the highlights of Great American Beer Fest. Since then, if we’ve seen a More Brewing beer available, we’ve bought it, no questions asked. So while we’ve *rarely* enjoyed milkshake IPAs, when we saw a chance to get Raspberry Marbles by More Brewing, we got it– no questions asked. Sure enough, it’s one of the best milkshake IPAs we’ve ever had, fruity and creamy with nice fluffy carbonation and a delightfully tart finish. Do we like milkshake IPAs now? No, not really. But we do trust More Brewing to kill it every time. No questions asked.
Mother Road Brewing: Daily Driver
Flagstaff, Arizona is an awesome city… and if you want awesome IPAs in Flagstaff, you go to the awesome Mother Road Brewing. Mother Road had several contenders for this list– Russell is a huge fan of Lost Highway, Mother Road’s scrumptious and roasty double black IPA– but we ultimately decided to give this honor to Daily Driver, the best session IPA that we had in 2020. It boasts better tropical aroma and juicier flavor than the majority of the IPAs we’ve had this year… and it does it with an eminently crushable 4.8% ABV. If we lived closer to Flagstaff, we’d stack our fridge with these beauties– and when we return for our next visit, we’re bringing an empty suitcase to stuff full of them.
New Glory Craft Brewery: Citra Dream
“Our other first exposure to New Glory was Citra Dream, their citra IPA that had been freshly canned when we bought it. It was fresh, juicy, creamy, and as citrusy as you’d hope, and it absolutely ranks among the best Citra hazies in the state.” Read more about this beer in our Best California Beers of 2020 coverage.
Outer Range Brewing: In the Steep
With the cancellation of an in-person Great American Beer Festival this year, we missed out on our usual tour of Colorado, so our exposure to Colorado beer this year was relatively limited. However, we did get our hands on our first taste of fresh Outer Range Brewing haze. In the Steep is a citra-hopped IPA with a slightly creamy texture and flavors of pineapple, tangerine, and just enough grass. Now that we’ve had a taste of Outer Range, it’s at the top of our list for our next road trip through Colorado– we can’t wait to see what else they have.
Pariah Brewing: That Gourmet Chit
Those of you who read our Best California Beers of 2020 may have noticed that we included a different Pariah IPA… well, we drank That Gourmet Chit after that article was published, otherwise it would’ve made that list with a bullet. That’s the problem with drinking Pariah Brewing: it’s always so good that it throws your article plans for a loop! Anyway, That Gourmet Chit is one of the best coffee IPAs we’ve ever had, managing to deliver some citrus notes from the hops alongside a healthy dose of Ethiopian coffee bean. Immaculately conceived, immaculately executed. Now if only we’d had it a couple of weeks earlier…
Parish Brewing: Ghost in the Machine
“Ghost in the Machine, one of the best IPAs in America. It was wonderful drinking this fresh from the tap on the west coast, savoring its rich citrus juice and grassy bite. Don’t ignore Parish next time you see them at a festival.” Read more about this beer in our Juicy Brews Beach Party coverage.
You’ll notice multiple triple IPAs on this list, because whenever a triple IPA achieves masterful execution, it stands out from the pack. Pure Project’s Cruel Sea is described as a “Quadruple IPA,” but regardless of how many numbers IPA it is, one fact remains: it’s incredibly smooth for a 13% ABV hazy. In fact, it’s smoother than most IPAs we have with nearly half the ABV, as it boasts bold orange and papaya flavors instead of boozy burn. This isn’t much of a surprise, as Pure Project makes some of the best IPAs in San Diego, and we could’ve awarded a number of their IPAs here… but that high degree of difficulty pulled off here gives Cruel Sea the crown.
Russian River Brewing: Pliny the Younger
“We were able to get multiple pints of Younger last spring before the shutdown, and they hit the spot as ever. In 2018, we used the phrase “absolute pine grenade,” and we think that still perfectly applies today.” Read more about this beer in our Best California Beers of 2020 coverage.
Short Throw Brewing: Dripping with Class
From Low Brow Nobility to Dripping With Class, Short Throw Brewing has made multiple incredible beers this year with names that mirror Russell’s fashion sense. Dripping With Class is a triple IPA collaboration with Bottle Logic– a frequent name on our Best Of lists. The alcohol is hardly present whatsoever, as we’ve has plenty of single IPAs that taste boozier than this sweet orange treat. The operative word here is another way of describing Russell’s fashion sense: smooth. We eagerly await what treats Short Throw will provide in 2021, and how they’ll continue to describe Russell’s style via beer titles in the near future.
“Moonraker’s Extremis and Slice’s Wombo both have monstrously strong, resinous pine flavor… but remain surprisingly drinkable with impressively clean finishes. Both of them absolutely hold their own against renowned west coast triples like Pliny the Younger.” Read more about this beer in our Best California Beers of 2020 coverage.
Southern Prohibition Brewing: 4xDH Space to Face
This is the latest beer to earn its spot on this list– in fact, Russell was already starting to work on this article when he took his first sip of Southern Prohibition’s 4xDH Space to Face. After one sip, he turned to Emily and said, “This is making the list.” One sip was all we needed to realize it was one of the best IPAs of the year– and really, one of the best beers of the year, regardless of style. It’s creamy and light in mouthfeel but *very* dank and hop-forward in taste and aroma. Southern Prohibition is making easily some of the best beer on the Gulf Coast, and we’re excited to hopefully score another trade for more in 2021.
Stellwagen Beer Company: We Are Your Oat-verlords
We weren’t able to go to Stellwagen Beer Company during our last trip to the Boston area in early 2019, but it’s high on our list for our next visit. While the pun in We Are Your Oat-verlords might be a tad strained, the name is completely… appr-oat-priate. It’s a creamy concoction of citrus and pine that splashes your tongue like waves from the oat-cean. If this is the treat our oat-verlords command us to consume, then we must oat-bey. (We’re in no position to call anyone’s puns strained ever again.)
“Their hazy double IPA, Acadian Fog, gives that grapefruit juice without getting overly sweet, and it delivers a nice dry finish. We’d put Acadian Fog right up alongside many of the more hyped IPAs in the state.” Read more about this beer in our Best California Beers of 2020 coverage.
Thompson Island Brewing Company: Thompson Island IPA
We discovered something startling this year: since starting this website, we hadn’t had a single beer from Delaware that didn’t come from Dogfish Head. We lobbied hard to change that this year, and luckily, the beer we received was from Thompson Island Brewing Company, a terrific brewery from Rehoboth Beach. Their hazy, Fabulous, was also quite good, but we were partial to their flagship, the Thompson Island IPA. Its citrus hops are bright, but there’s still some nice pepper and pine to add a nice touch of balance. We’re excited to hopefully continue exploring Delaware’s beer scene in 2021… but we’ll definitely start with trying more of what Thompson Island has to offer.
Tombstone Brewing: Another Exercise in Mediocrity
One of the very few pleasant surprises that 2020 provided us was Tombstone Brewing opening their Phoenix location a mere week before we came to town. We’d had a few of their cans that made their way to California, but getting to try their terrific IPAs fresh from the tap was a real treat. This double IPA, Another Exercise in Mediocrity, is anything but its namesake– it’s a top-notch, well-balanced Citra and Mosaic glass of haze. We wouldn’t be surprised if Tombstone continues to grow and expand.
TrimTab Brewing: Grand Prismatic
Our first encounter with Birmingham’s own TrimTab Brewing came with several delicious IPAs, any one of which could’ve made this list. While we strongly considering putting The Observer, their oat IPA, in the mix here, we instead leaned by a hair in the direction of Grand Prismatic, a double dry hopped IPA with Galaxy, Mosaic, and Motueka. Citrusy taste with a nice bitter finish, it was as delicious as its can design was beautiful. If you’re in Alabama and need good fresh haze, we strongly suggest making the trek to TrimTab.
We’ve given WeldWerks a number of accolades over the years– including an inclusion on our Best Stouts of 2020 list– but we somehow had yet to give love to the WeldWerks beer we’ve consumed the most over the years: Juicy Bits. There’s not much to say about this beer that hasn’t been said already by a number of beer writers over the years– it’s one of the great single IPAs in America, and it’s consistently great every time we buy a 4-pack. If you like hazy IPAs, you owe it to yourself to try Juicy Bits if you haven’t.
Wren House Brewing: Spellbinder
“Wren House’s IPAs were both aptly named: the Dreamy Draw was… well, dreamy, and the Spellbinder IPA left us… well, spellbound. Forced to choose one, I’ll side with Spellbinder– creamy, grassy, tropical, a little dank, and a lot delicious.” Read more about this beer in our Juicy Brews Beach Party coverage.
What were your favorite IPAs in 2020? What are you looking forward to trying in 2021? Please let us know in the comments below! Check out our lists of the best sour beers of 2020 and the best stouts of 2020— and keep an eye out for our best beers from every state, coming around New Years! Cheers!
I’m in Tulsa. Sign me up for a Terpy Galaxy trade!