Highest-rated IPAs in Connecticut

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November 4, 2022
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Highest-rated IPAs in Connecticut

Bitter is better for IPA lovers. This hop-forward brew is the most popular craft beer style in the United States, accounting for nearly half of all beer sales in off-premise retail establishments in 2024, according to Circana data.

India pale ales originated in England in the 1800s, with the phrase first appearing in print in 1835. Brewer George Hodgson typically gets the credit for its development. His competitors started calling his hoppier brew India pale ale because of his contract with the British East India Company.

American brewers first began making English IPAs in the late 1800s, but Americans preferred lagers. It wasn't until 1975, when Anchor Brewing Company launched a dry-hopped pale ale, that craft brewers started to latch onto the style. In 1991, Oregon brewer Teri Fahrendorf made an IPA with all-American ingredients, creating the first American IPA.

Like other ales, IPAs contain top-fermenting yeast, which gives them a robust flavor and aroma. IPAs are loaded with hops, responsible for the beer's characteristic bitterness and its notes of citrus, floral, or pine. These beers are known for their higher alcohol content, ranging from 5.5% to 7.5%, although session IPAs are lower in ABV, and double or triple IPAs are higher.

Brewers like IPAs because they allow for bold creativity. West Coast IPAs are known for their high hop levels, with brewers pushing the bounds of bitterness. While true IPA aficionados love that element, many are now leaning toward the more approachable New England-style IPA, which is hazier in appearance and maximizes the fruitier characteristics of hops without the extreme and potentially off-putting bitter taste.

Whatever your IPA preference, there are endless options to choose from. Stacker compiled a list of the best IPAs from Connecticut, using data from BeerAdvocate, and sorted them according to their weighted ranking. Beers without images were excluded. Only IPAs that made BeerAdvocate's top 100 beer list by state were included.

#30. Super Duper Double Citra

- Rating: 4.16 (114 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Thomas Hooker Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#29. Inundation

- Rating: 4.24 (40 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.3%
- Brewery: Counter Weight Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#28. Ode To Blumpy

- Rating: 4.23 (47 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: Thomas Hooker Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#27. No Hope for the Kids

- Rating: 4.30 (28 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.4%
- Brewery: Counter Weight Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#26. Wavelength

- Rating: 4.36 (21 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: New Park Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#25. Laurel

- Rating: 4.30 (29 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: New Park Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#24. Double Inundation

- Rating: 4.37 (21 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: Counter Weight Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#23. Two Juicy

- Rating: 4.14 (824 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: Two Roads Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#22. Trailblazer

- Rating: 4.16 (288 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Connecticut Valley Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#21. Shruggie ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- Rating: 4.26 (60 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.2%
- Brewery: Kent Falls Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#20. Awkward Hug

- Rating: 4.27 (59 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: Kent Falls Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#19. Double Scoop

- Rating: 4.31 (48 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.4%
- Brewery: Back East Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#18. Crucial Mass

- Rating: 4.27 (77 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Counter Weight Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#17. Headway

- Rating: 4.22 (279 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.5%
- Brewery: Counter Weight Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#16. Headband

- Rating: 4.35 (42 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: New Park Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#15. #NOFILTER

- Rating: 4.23 (277 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: Thomas Hooker Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#14. Daylily

- Rating: 4.30 (72 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.1%
- Brewery: Fox Farm Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#13. Cloudscape

- Rating: 4.31 (74 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.5%
- Brewery: New Park Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#12. Dogs & Boats

- Rating: 4.25 (385 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 9.1%
- Brewery: Beer'd Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#11. Virid - Southern Hemisphere

- Rating: 4.32 (83 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.2%
- Brewery: Fox Farm Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#10. Hobbit Juice

- Rating: 4.26 (288 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 9.2%
- Brewery: Beer'd Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#9. Double Burst

- Rating: 4.35 (67 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.3%
- Brewery: Fox Farm Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#8. Alta

- Rating: 4.34 (87 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.8%
- Brewery: Fox Farm Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#7. BURST

- Rating: 4.31 (159 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: Fox Farm Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#6. Double Cloud

- Rating: 4.47 (48 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: New Park Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#5. Double Fuzzy Baby Ducks

- Rating: 4.40 (264 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: New England Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#4. G-Bot

- Rating: 4.39 (2,995 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.5%
- Brewery: New England Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#3. Coriolis

- Rating: 4.41 (697 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: New England Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#2. Fuzzy Baby Ducks

- Rating: 4.45 (1,205 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.2%
- Brewery: New England Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#1. Locust Reign

- Rating: 4.47 (381 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: New England Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 51 states.

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