Highest-rated IPAs in Michigan

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November 4, 2022
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Highest-rated IPAs in Michigan

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 Michigan, 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.

#22. Blow Your Face Out

- Rating: 4.20 (122 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 10.5%
- Brewery: Roak Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#21. Psychedelic Cat Grass

- Rating: 4.18 (225 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.6%
- Brewery: Short's Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#20. You Can Get With That...JUICE

- Rating: 4.23 (75 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 9.0%
- Brewery: Ellison Brewery & Spirits
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#19. The Oracle

- Rating: 4.16 (2,840 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 10.0%
- Brewery: Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#18. Crumple

- Rating: 4.38 (25 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: HOMES Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#17. This Guy

- Rating: 4.27 (51 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 7.7%
- Brewery: Witch's Hat Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#16. M-43 - Tart Strawberry

- Rating: 4.20 (199 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.8%
- Brewery: Old Nation Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#15. Hopstache

- Rating: 4.19 (351 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.8%
- Brewery: Short's Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#14. Cart Horse

- Rating: 4.20 (249 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: Old Nation Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#13. Same Same Different

- Rating: 4.28 (58 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.7%
- Brewery: HOMES Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#12. Hop Grandslam

- Rating: 4.40 (28 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 10.5%
- Brewery: Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#11. Mind To Devour

- Rating: 4.24 (117 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.35%
- Brewery: Transient Artisan Ales
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#10. Double Trouble

- Rating: 4.20 (6,687 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 9.4%
- Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#9. Obligatory

- Rating: 4.30 (97 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.5%
- Brewery: Transient Artisan Ales
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#8. Double Dry Hopped M-43

- Rating: 4.35 (70 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.2%
- Brewery: Old Nation Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#7. Harvest Ale

- Rating: 4.25 (4,717 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.6%
- Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#6. Two Hearted IPA

- Rating: 4.27 (15,898 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#5. The Juice Is Loose

- Rating: 4.33 (307 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Transient Artisan Ales
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#4. Boss Tweed

- Rating: 4.36 (778 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 9.3%
- Brewery: Old Nation Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#3. DRIPA (Double Rice IPA)

- Rating: 4.38 (1,072 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 9.5%
- Brewery: Kuhnhenn Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#2. M-43

- Rating: 4.39 (1,325 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.8%
- Brewery: Old Nation Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#1. Hopslam Ale

- Rating: 4.45 (14,053 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 10.0%
- Brewery: Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store
- 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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